Success for the Apulian airport system. The Italian G7 Summit, which was held from 13 to 15 June 2024, was a stress test that ended in the best possible way for the organizers. An orchestra made up of the Puglia Region, central government and municipalities that played in harmony. Particularly noteworthy is the good performance recorded by the Brindisi and Grottaglie airports, without forgetting the seven temporary helipads.

The hub of the Summit was the Borgo Egnazia resort, home of the world summit between the seven political leaders. The municipality is located in Sevelletri, in the province of Brindisi. In this area, between the territories of Fasano and Monopoli, two heliports (seven helipads in total) were built for the occasion, where US President Joe Biden, Pope Francis, and all the other powerful people on Earth landed. Over five million euros have been allocated for the creation of the take-off and landing areas (one in via Accademia navale; the other on the Sevelletri-Capitolo road). The works were coordinated by the Italian extraordinary commissioner Giovanni Soccodato and supervised by the Italian Air Force.

Stress test also passed for Brindisi-Casale airport and for the "Marcello Arlotta" stopover of Taranto-Grottaglie. During the days of the G7 summit there were numerous landings and take-offs of the aircraft of the delegations accompanying the seven world leaders. These include US President Joe Biden's iconic Air Force. Without forgetting about a hundred flights with military and medical personnel, officials, journalists, and aircraft for the transport of food and fuel on board.

The contribution of the "Karol Wojtyla" international airport in Bari is also fundamental. For example, from 7.00 pm to 11.00 pm on Thursday 13 June, when the official dinner hosted by the Italian President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, was scheduled, the airspace over Brindisi was closed and so scheduled flights were diverted to Bari. Furthermore, an ATR aircraft of the Guardia di Finanza had taken off from Bari for patrol missions along the stretch of coast between Bari and Brindisi during the three days of meetings .

On the topic, see also the article published by AVIONEWS.