i am starting to plan a trip and i was going to fly from Boston to Munich and spend a couple of days there. then i figured i would fly from Munich into Florence's airport since that is where we will base ourselves. i checked into the airport's website and it said it has one runway. I am nervous about the sizes of planes that fly there. Does anyone have any information on this ? I dont want to be flying on one of those small "commuter" types! thanks

Peretola's 1,750 meter runway can accommodate aircraft no larger than the Airbus 319. Between Munich and Florence, Air Dolomiti (Lufthansa partner) uses ATR turboprops seating up to 72 passengers.

Flying into Peretola is a real "hoot": most aircraft break hard once on the ground, to avoid using up the remaining concrete before coming to a complete stop. On rare occasions, a few planes have not stopped in time, and have ended up bumping against the perimeter fence.

I would not worry: the odds of something going wrong are slim indeed. The airport is considered "safe."

If you don't like the idea of landing at Peretola, you could fly from Munich to Milan or Rome and take the train to Florence. You will have more flight choices this way.

I have flown in to Peretola a half dozen times on CitiJet and Alitilia, always jets and what an easy airport.

I have to say the first time I experienced the break hard tactics I attributed it to a Mario Andretti influenced pilot!

thanks for the info. i know i could fly into milan or rome and take the train but why bother taking up all that time when i can fly from munich right into florence. i do know someone that just did the same trip so i cant wait to ask her about her experience. i will just get ready for the hard braking!!

GAC - jeez don't sugarcoat it! haha

Knowing that, I'm glad I only few OUT of there

I've flown in and out of Peretola a few times. I don't recall the landing being memorable in any way (but perhaps I wasn't looking for it). I DID notice what a small easy airport it is to navigate and how easy and quick it was to catch a taxi to Florence.

Don't get me wrong. I really like Peretola airport, despite its fairly short runway. Check-in and security control are a snap, arrivals just as easy, and it's a 10-15 minute, 20-Euro taxi ride to central Florence. It's not crowded, and no aircraft can seat more than 116 passengers. Also, the number of aircraft arrivals and departures is relatively small compared to the larger Italian airports.

There is a great cafe/self service on the upper level with a panoramic view of the departure apron. In the departure gate area there is a small but well-appointed duty-free shop. There is also a "high end" boutique selling women's undergarments, which I do find a bit peculiar, and wonder how much "business" it does!!

The "problem" of its short runway may well be its "blessing": if there were the space to lengthen the runway another 1,250 meters, there would be intercontinental flights to New York (which now go to Pisa), many more flights within Europe, and the airport would be of entirely different dimensions.

I would very highly recommend using Peretola if your destination is Florence or any of its close neighbors: Prato, Pistoia and Arezzo.