Flew to LIRZ in 2019 it was expensive but they at least helped out for the money one paid for handling. Yes the parking area is pretty desperate
If I remember correctly it wasnt huge or expansive. But I have a feeling that if you go there they will find parking for you. Also I think there is an aero club there that might be able to help. Near where they have parking there was also a mechanic’s shop. So its not terrible. Just get handling to talk to you. They do speak English.
Rented a car for 5 days. My passenger went to a Villa/Castle for a Sommeliers course on Italian wines 2 hrs drive from the airport. Very pretty countryside.
As mentioned, I ended up getting through to Siena, once I started emailing them in Google translated Italian. They also helped out with a contact to a car-hire company that would leave the car at the airport and the keys with he Aeroclub.
Once we had established communication, it was a real pleasure to fly in and out of Siena. They could not have been more helpful. They had parked the car in the garage to keep it out of the sun and let me drive it onto the apron which help the unloading in 38 degrees heat.
Feeling was done with BP Carnet but I could also have paid with any other credit card.
Radio and communication once there was fully done in fluent English – no problem whatsoever. They also helped with the phone to the get the IFR departure clearance.
Not cheap though – 300EUR for landing and parking for 4 days and the car-hire was not cheap either, but at least you are able to get in and out of an airport that is otherwise closed (and pretty derelict). Note that they’re only open between 10 and 1pm. I would have thought that they would get much more business if they charged ‘normal’ rates, but if there is no demand I guess they need to extract as much as possible from the few movements to keep it open.
Google translating makes a big difference to response % in all the countries where they expect you to speak their language 
mmgreve wrote:
but if there is no demand I guess they need to extract as much as possible from the few movements to keep it open.
Well if I ran my business like that I would have needed to charge 5x what i was charging. There is a point of limiting returns. At some point you will need to charge so much that nobody would fly in there. Its called capitalism.
Not sure hat business you’re in C210_Flyer, but I bet that price elasticity is low when you operate the only viable airport in Tuscany :-)
Hi every body.
Can I suggest to take in consideration Serristori airfield? LIQQ
Nice airfield, hard runway, nice restaurant with Florentine, nice hotel
When flying to Italy, try to avoid airport….
Sorry, I didn’t seen previous comments
Freddie wrote:
Can I suggest to take in consideration Serristori airfield? LIQQ
Nice airfield, hard runway, nice restaurant with Florentine, nice hotel
It’s pretty short.
Buckerfan wrote:
If someone hasnt already mentioned this, you need to buy a copy of Avioportolano. Fantastic book with details of hundreds of smaller grass strips and out of the way airports. Its available in English as well as Italian.That is definitely one of the best tips a pilot can get for flying in Italy! Thanks to the Avioportolano, a (more or less) decent fuel planning is possible. They have the latest phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Without it, I would have been totally lost during my past trips in Italy, especially when it comes to fuel planning and PPR information.
As a consequence, prices are getting higher and parking positions are not easy to get, especially in high season. For occasional visit it doesn’t seem to be a problem (you prearrange everything in advance, accept the cost as a part of “bigger picture” of whole trip) but for regular GA flying Croatia fits to general picture of Southern Europe.Croatia is getting expensive in general and therefore less attractive during the high season. Hotels did ask crazy prices during August, which was far and beyond of my budget. Also most airports are not cheap. Even LDLO asks quite a lot of money for landing and few days parking. Not to mention the outrageous handling fees at LDDU. Italy will be for sure a lot cheaper, as you can prevent big airports quite well, at least in the northern part of the country. Except when you come from Switzerland and your only options for cheap airfields with customs are Aosta or Bozen.
That is definitely one of the best tips a pilot can get for flying in Italy! Thanks to the Avioportolano, a (more or less) decent fuel planning is possible. They have the latest phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Without it, I would have been totally lost during my past trips in Italy, especially when it comes to fuel planning and PPR information.
That, however, is simply not the way the system is supposed to work. The required info is supposed to be in the AIP, and anything else is supposed to be notamed.
Admittedly for “farm strips” there won’t be an AIP entry. The UK equivalent is e.g. the Lockyer’s Guide which lists these. Reportedly, it lists some which the owners don’t want to be there, too 
Italy has a few hundred of such runways.
Is the Italian AIP no good?
PPR implies the place is manned, so it isn’t just some grass strip where one can drop in.
Anything in “tarmac”, and staffed, should generally be in the AIP. Otherwise you get the issue of it wanting a PN but nobody answers the phone or the email. We have done this one before many times. It’s the same argument as opening hours appearing on the airport website correctly and not in the AIP, or vice versa. Nowadays pilots often look up airport websites, which is also “wrong” but often necessary. Greece has “normalised” it by opening hours being permanently notamed; their AIP has historically always been crap. There is this document which seems to be “ok” but the times are local, not UTC, and referencing such a document is also “wrong” because it is not how a pilot is supposed to brief. One isn’t supposed to have to trawl the internet for stuff which contains favourable airport data Hence our airport database carries AIP and NOTAM links and doesn’t carry runway sizes etc. The briefing situation is already bad enough, before this kind of stuff where people don’t brief correctly and then slag off the airport all over the internet.
The situation is made worse by so many places not replying in English, or any other language other than their own, and many or most not replying at all. Stuff like avgas availability cannot be checked via a printed document, especially when you throw in the “sporting club” factor where the place isn’t actually supposed to sell fuel to outsiders, but does, if the person looks like he will keep his mouth shut
The result of this bad briefing situation is that very few people fly to a range of destinations. Most just do the same old burger runs. They might be “nice burger runs” e.g. S. Germans flying to Zell am See, or Mali Losinj (whereas Brits might do the £3 all day breakfast, fried in W80, on Sandown) but they are still the same places – because the pilots know these places are “easy”.
Croatia is getting expensive in general and therefore less attractive during the high season. Hotels did ask crazy prices during August, which was far and beyond of my budget. Also most airports are not cheap. Even LDLO asks quite a lot of money for landing and few days parking.
Less than one will spend on fish But blame tourism from N Europe for that… I am sure there are places in Italy where you won’t find a hotel. Elba gets pretty expensive.
