History
The current location of the airport dates back to 1938, when it opened as a grass field. The first paved runway was laid in 1960, and originally had a length of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) and a width of 30 metres (98 ft). Initially managed by private sector companies, the airport was taken over by the Azienda comunale dei trasporti della Città di Lugano, Lugano's municipal transport company, in 1974.
In the early 1980s, the airline Crossair decided to invest in the airport, establishing connections between Lugano and various European cities. In 1985, the runway was extended by 150 metres (490 ft), and in 1989 a new control tower became operational.
In 2006, a new management company, Lugano Airport SA, was established. While the airport site belongs to the city of Lugano, the infrastructure is managed by Lugano Airport SA in which the canton of Ticino holds 12.5% of the share capital and the city holds 87.5%.
Read more about this topic: Lugano Airport
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“America is the only nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization.”
—Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929)
“The history of a soldier’s wound beguiles the pain of it.”
—Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)
“The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more”
—John Adams (1735–1826)