Olbia - Costa Smeralda Airport

Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport Aeroporto di Olbia-Costa Smeralda
IATA: OLB ICAO: LIEO
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Geasar S.p.A.
Serves	Olbia
Location	Olbia, Italy
Hub for	Meridiana
Elevation AMSL	37 ft / 11 m
Coordinates	40°53′09″N 09°31′01″E / 40.88583°N 9.51694°E / 40.88583; 9.51694Coordinates: 40°53′09″N 09°31′01″E / 40.88583°N 9.51694°E / 40.88583; 9.51694
Website	geasar.it
Map
OLB Location of airport in Sardinia
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 05/23 2,445 8,025 Concrete / Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 2,240,016 Passenger change 14–15 +5.3% Aircraft movements 28,272 Movements change 14–15 -1%
Source: Italian AIP at EUROCONTROL Statistics from Assaeroporti

Passengers	2,240,016
Passenger change 14–15	+5.3%
Aircraft movements	28,272
Movements change 14–15	-1%

Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport (Italian: Aeroporto di Olbia-Costa Smeralda) (IATA: OLB, ICAO: LIEO) is an airport in Olbia, Sardinia. It is the primary operating base for Italian airline Meridiana whose headquarters are located at the airport. It mostly handles seasonal holiday flights from destinations in Europe and is managed by Geasar S.p.A.

A military airfield was opened at Olbia (then Terranova Pausania) in 1921, and a seaplane base was inaugurated close to the Isola Bianca harbour in 1927, although poor loads from the island on the flights to Ostia and Cagliari led to the service's stop in Terranova being discontinued in 1929. The airfield and seaplane base were targeted by Allied bombing in World War II, and the Germans opened another airfield 4.5 miles west of the town, which was renamed Olbia in 1945.

Commercial flights gradually returned and in 1963 the Olbia-based airline Alisarda was formed. It successfully expanded its route network, introducing jet flights in 1972, and it was renamed Meridiana in 1991. However, the introduction of jet aircraft necessitated the building of a larger airport nearer the city; the current airport was completed in 1974.

Following 3 years of work, a new terminal covering 42,000 square metres and capable of handling 4.5 million passengers per year was unveiled on June 6, 2004. Costing a total of €81 million, the structure was designed by Willem Brouwer Architects and incorporated the original terminal building, which was developed into a 3000-square metre retail area. The new building has 40 check-in desks and ten boarding gates, five of which are equipped with jet bridges. It contains a wide variety of shops and restaurants, a wine bar, a small art gallery, and indoor garden areas featuring local flora.