Reggio di Calabria "Tito Minniti" Airport, also known as Aeroporto dello Stretto is an airport located near Reggio, in southern Calabria, Italy. It serves mainly the Province of Reggio and the Province of Messina, and partially the Province of Vibo Valentia; more than 1,200,000 people. Daily flights depart and arrive for and from several Italian cities, and are seasonally augmented by flights to various other countries. Reggio military airport was inaugurated in 1939, becoming operative for commercial flights in 1947; later it was named after Italian Royal Air Force war-hero Tito Minniti, who was born in Reggio Calabria. Its IATA airport code REG is derived from Reggio, Calabria's main city, which the airport is closest to. On the outskirts of the airport the training grounds of local football clubReggina Calcio are located. In March 2017, Alitalia announced it would terminate all 56 weekly flights to and from the airport stating all routes were heavily loss-making. However, this decision was revoked shortly after. In summer 2017, Sacal S.p.A., also managing Lamezia Terme took over the management of the airport.
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The Reggio Calabria Airport is approximately 5 kilometres south from Reggio's historic city centre. It is accessible by car or public transport. The easiest way to The airport is reachable in 7 minutes by regional trains from Reggio Calabria Centrale or Melito di Porto Salvo. Once arrived at Reggio Calabria Aeroporto Railway Station, the airport is a few minutes away by walk or by a shuttle bus which operates on demand. Otherwise, the airport is reachable by bus routes 27 and 27/ from the University and San Brunello and by the Port-Airport direct route, all of which are operated by ATAM and with nearby towns and ports by various provincial bus operators. There was also a projected pier to allow the docking of the ferries from Messina, allowing the residents of the Sicilian city to use the Reggio Calabria Airport instead of driving 200 km south to Catania Airport. This pier was built, but the prevailing winds did not allow the ferries to dock. This issue, together with low passenger numbers have caused the pier to be abandoned and used by fishermen, becoming a symbol of waste of public money. Even the airport railway station has faced criticism by the local community, due to its 2 km distance from the terminal and the low number of passengers which use it. The number of trains calling at the station is 22 trains per day between 7 am and 9.30 pm.
