Ajaccio - Campo dell'Oro Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Ajaccio - Campo dell'Oro Airport
nativename = Aéroport d'Ajaccio - Campo dell'Oro


image-width = 250
caption = Control tower
IATA = AJA
ICAO = LFKJ
type = Public
owner =
operator = CCI d’Ajaccio et de la Corse du Sud
city-served = Ajaccio, France
location =
elevation-f = 18
elevation-m = 5
coordinates = coord|41|55|26|N|008|48|09|E|type:airport
website =
metric-rwy = y
r1-number = 02/20
r1-length-f = 7,897
r1-length-m = 2,407
r1-surface = Bituminous concrete
footnotes = Source: French AIPAIP_FR|LFKJ|name=AJACCIO NAPOLEON BONAPARTE]

Ajaccio - Campo dell'Oro Airport Airport codes|AJA|LFKJ is the main airport serving Ajaccio on the French island of Corsica. It is located in Ajaccio, a "commune" of the "département" of Corse-du-Sud, 5 km east of the harbor.

Campo Airport is the main base of regional airline CCM Airlines, which operates services to metropolitan France

Airlines and destinations

*Air France (Paris-Orly)
**Air France operated by Brit Air (Nantes, Quimper)
**Air France operated by CCM Airlines (Paris-Orly)
**Air France operated by Régional (Clermont-Ferrand, Geneva, Lille, Strasbourg, Toulouse)
*CCM Airlines (Lyon, Marseille, Nice)
*easyJet (Geneva [began 29 June] , London-Gatwick)
*flybaboo (Geneva)
*Europe Airpost (Brest)
*Luxair (Luxembourg)

History

Campo dell'Oro before aviation was an alluvial plain at the mouth of the Gravona River. The meaning of "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.

In 1940 a Vichy Air Corp unit was kept inactive at Campo dell'Oro. The liberation of Corsica began with the landing by sea in 1943 of I Corps (France) at Ajaccio in Operation Vésuve. A few months later Fighter Group GC2/7 of the Free French Air Force, a French unit of the RAF, 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.

In 1944 the American Army Air Force took over the airport and put down a hard surface of perforated metallic mats from which a squadron of P-51's flew. [cite web|title=The AAF in Southern France|work=The United States Army Air Forces in World War II|url=http://www.usaaf.net/ww/vol1/vol1pg1.htm|publisher=Headquarters, Army Air Forces Washington, D.C. (Center for Air Force History)|date=1992|format=html|accessdate=2008-05-20|author=Office of Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Intelligence] [cite web|title=Calamity in Corsica|date=March 7 2007|first=Marc|last=Long|url=http://www.simhq.com/_air9/air_288a.html|work=Aviation and Air Combat Articles|publisher=SimHQ|format=html|accessdate=2008-05-20] They defended B-24's 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, the foundation of the modern airport. The Americans also made a concerted effort to eradicate Malaria by infilling wetlands and spraying pesticides in coastal regions.

References

External links

* [http://www.ajaccio.aeroport.fr/aeroports/ajaccio2.php?en Ajaccio Airport - CCI Ajaccio et Corse-du-Sud]
* fr icon [http://www.aeroport.fr/les-aeroports-de-l-uaf/ajaccio-napoleon-bonaparte.php Aéroport d'Ajaccio Napoléon Bonaparte] - Union des Aéroports Français
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