Campo dell'Oro, before aviation, was an alluvial plain at the mouth of the Gravona. The toponym's origin, meaning "Field of Gold", remains obscure; some 19th century authors refer to a "rich cropland"; others, to a malaria-infested marshland. A grass flying field existed there before World War II but apparently offered no transportation services, as the first regular flights to Marseille began with the institution of a seaplane service in 1935 from Ajaccio Harbor.[citation needed]
In 1940, a Vichy Air Corps unit was kept inactive at Campo dell'Oro. The liberation of Corsica began with the landing by sea in 1943 of I Corps at Ajaccio in Operation Vésuve. A few months later Fighter Group GC2/7 of the Free French Air Force, a French unit of the Royal Air Force, were operational on the grass field at Campo dell'Oro with Spitfires. Heavy aircraft were unable to land and came to mishap in the soft surface.[citation needed]
In 1944 the United States Army Air Forces took over the airport and put down a hard surface of perforated metallic mats from which a squadron of P-51s flew.[4][5] They defended B-26s flying from new airfields constructed on the east coast of Corsica. Campo dell'Oro was a challenge for the larger aircraft because of its relatively short runways and proximity to the mountains. Toward the end of the war, the runways were paved, forming the foundation of the modern airport.
Before the crash of Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308, the airport had no radar, and its holding pattern had aircraft fly over mountains. After the crash, the holding pattern was shifted over the ocean and aircraft radar was installed.[6]
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport:
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Annual passenger traffic at AJA airport.
See Wikidata query.
Other facilities
Air Corsica has its head office on the airport property.[21]
^French: Aéroport d'Ajaccio-Napoléon-Bonaparte, Corsican: Aeruportu di Aiacciu Nabulione Buonaparte
References
^"Bulletin Statistique du trafic aérien commercial - année 2021" [Commercial Air Traffic Statistics Bulletin - year 2021] (PDF; 4,45 MB). ecologie.gouv.fr (in French). Ministère de la Transition écologique et de la Cohésion des territoires. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
^Office of Assistant Chief of Air staff, Intelligence (1992). "The AAF in Southern France". The United States Army Air Forces in World War II. Headquarters, Army Air Forces Washington, D.C. (Center for Air Force History). Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2008.
^Long, Marc (7 March 2007). "Calamity in Corsica". Aviation and Air Combat Articles. SimHQ. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2008.
