Snapshot of the Italian Airports Design. An analysis of the Italian Core Network existent terminals situation

The paper reports the results of a study focused on sustainability evaluation looking at the Airports network, among the major Italian airport terminals. This study is a first step to the comprehension of strengths and weaknesses, criticalities and possible improvements of the Italian airport terminals. The analysis refers to the ten Italian airports belonging to the Core Network list, towards which the international traffic of European sky is conveyed. The importance of green building aims is due to the very short service life cycle of the passenger terminal (5-10 years). Then it is due to its size, in terms of materials and energy resources usage. In the end it is due to its effects on environment, inside the airport perimeter and on the surroundings. The European strategy, both in the construction and in the transports industry, is focused on sustainable approach both in the project design and in operation as well. This is translated in a consequent regulation set up. The adoption of an integrated and evolutive methodology for airport terminal design and for infrastructure planning is necessary to obtain sustainability targets and international competitiveness. These are direct consequences of the European orientation; then it is necessary to grant those, to achieve the success of our design. This result is checked out through passenger experience and through operation, maintenance and development costs during life cycle. The study has been done referring to the key issues of a green strategy. These have been structured in a survey, whose articulation consists of qualitative and quantitative questions. The aim was to obtain a synthetic but efficient picture, made by airports’ technical departments themselves. What the study reveals is a static situation concerning the level of sustainability of passenger terminals and a not competitive grade of attention to the sustainability subject. In our country, we are slowly recognizing the economic importance of the sustainable approach, while abroad it is a real challenge.