Florence Peretola Airport (FLR) Flights & Information

In Italian this airport is called the Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola (FLR), but it’s formally known as Amerigo Vespucci Airport and is the international airport of Florence. Currently, this airport is in the process of expanding, and making space to take many more passengers improve facilities across the airport in general, too. As of right now, it has just one runway.

In my experience, this airport is easy to manage a passenger inside the terminals. But with just one runway in wintertime, windy or foggy conditions can adversely affect landing and taking off, with flights getting diverted to Pisa or Bologna.

Airlines that fly to Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola

The airport, albeit small, has many major airlines coming in and out: Aegean Airlines, Air Dolomiti, Air France, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airways, ITA Airways, Iberia, KLM, Swiss, Lufthansa, SAS and TAP. There is also a series of smaller and low-cost airlines, including Volotea, Vueling, Wideroe, Eurowings, Binter, Lux Air and Albawings. Notably, widely known low-cost airlines EasyJet and Ryanair do not use this airport.

Location of FLR airport

This little airport is less than 4 miles from the historic Florence city center and, if you’re driving, this should take all of about 15 minutes. I have used this airport when I needed to get to the Tuscany area from another European city, quickly.

Coming from a big international city outside of the continent, though, I prefer to the larger Rome airport (FCO) and much larger Milan airports as they just have so many more flights. hey are just a few hours’ drive or train ride from the general area here and it’s worth the convenience of more frequent flights to these other airports.

Getting to the airport

There is a very convenient tramway connection between the Florence airport and the city center. It is the T2 line and runs between the train station of Santa Maria Novella in the heart of Florence to the airport. It runs every few minutes, is very inexpensive and takes less than 20 minutes to complete the journey. This is my preferred way to travel from this airport.

If you prefer a taxi, it takes about 15 minutes and there are taxis available right outside the terminals. They operate on a fixed cost so you will have that information as you get into the car. If you’re not staying anywhere near the train station and have luggage then the cobble streets of Florence can be annoying to get around on, a taxi that drops you right at your hotel is your best bet.

Terminals

There are two main buildings here – one for domestic flights and the other for international flights. They are open specifically when flights are arriving and departing, not 24 hours. They strictly staffed for these fluctuating flight times only.

There is a massive information desk in the arrivals area in case you need any help. It is open from 9:00 am until 7:00 pm most days. You will also find an assistance area right here for any lost luggage or oversized bags.

Gates

There are only 11 gates and this airport does not have enough seating at all the gates during peak season. Note that since it’s pretty small and quick to get through security in my experience, you don’t need to arrive too far ahead of your flight’s departure time. Even in summer, the space is still limited and it can often get crowded and hot inside the terminal.

Wi-Fi at the airport

There is free Wi-Fi available at FLR and you can connect from anywhere in the terminal, but note that it lasts for just one hour only. After that it may require you to reconnect. The other option is to go into the Masaccio Lounge, and there they have faster and more secure internet connections for a fee.

Facilities in the terminal

There are a few shopping options at this small airport. There is an outpost of Hudson, where you can grab books, magazines, snacks, cough drops and maybe some headphones if you need them. For more refined reading options, I like the Giunti al Punto Librerie store, where they have both English and Italian books.

There is also the customary duty-free shopping at this airport. My favorite destination by far at this airport is Opera Laboratori, a last-minute shopping highlight. They sell all kinds of gorgeous keepsakes from the Tuscany region including artwork, postcards, pencils, teddy bears, dolls in Renaissance costumes and beautiful jewelry. It constantly changes so it’s worth exploring anew every time.

Wine and dine at the airport

The new developments will really transform this offering, but in the meantime it is rather sparse. They have two cafe locations of Briciole, and here you can get a coffee with an Italian snack (think pastry or sandwich). Buoni & Belli is on the departures side and offers more of a meal, including Tuscan favorites like pastas and paninis. Of course, if you’re into wine, this is where to have your Tuscan wine fix at the airport.

There are also some pizza options at the airport, but since you're in Italy, I say keep your fancy fabulous pizza desires for Florence, Rome or Naples. And there is also, in the departures area, Beercode. But that is more burgers and beer than anything specifically Italian.

Lounge at the airport

The only option at the little airport is the Masaccio Lounge (signs say VIP Lounge). It is on the first floor, after security. It is mostly for Priority Pass customers and credit card holders with certain membership benefits. It is small and very limited, but if you need somewhere quiet to work for a few hours it will do.

They do not have much food, but you can grab a drink here. In my experience it doesn’t get very full as they are strict on who gets to enter. I have used their printer here a few times, so if case you need those kinds of facilities this is where to come.

Car rental

A fantastic way to explore Tuscany, as I have many times, is by rental car. The small winding roads through vineyards over hills and fields are that romantic notion of Toscana you want to explore. And I highly recommend it. The airport has a few car rental companies on site, and they are located right outside the terminal. These include Avis, Enterprise, National, Hertz, Europcar and Budget, plus a few smaller, local companies also.

I recommend a smallish car that can easily maneuver through tiny towns across Italy and will make driving and parking much easier. Since this is a small airport, they can run out of rental cars easily, so I would book in advance.

Parking at the airport

Since I spend a lot of time in Italy, friends are often joining me there and I am forever picking them up at the airport for their fantasy Tuscany trip. Here, the parking lot is right across from the terminal and open all day and night. It is free for the first 15 minutes and then there is a charge for time after that.

Hotels at the airport

There are a few hotels close to the airport. None of them are connected, so you would need to take a shuttle or walk to any of them. There is the Novotel Firenze Nord Aeroporto that is a 5- minute drive or shuttle away in case of emergency, but I would not recommend any of these hotels.

The much better option is to grab a taxi or the very easy tram and head to the city for a much better (and more interesting) experience. I recommend the Baglioni Grand Hotel across the street from the train station and a five-minute walk away, or C Hotels Diplomat literally steps from the train station, with a great bar.