For years, to anyone flying into Campania, Salerno airport was a curiosity: a runway in the middle of the Sele plain that almost nobody landed on. Scheduled flights returned in 2024, in 2025 it passed 380,000 passengers — more than double the year before — and in November 2026, with Capodichino closed for runway works, it becomes for a month the reference airport for half the region. It is worth knowing what it is like, because it is small in a way that is sometimes an advantage and sometimes not.
What kind of airport it is
It is called Salerno Costa d’Amalfi, code QSR, and it sits in Pontecagnano Faiano, about twenty kilometres south-east of Salerno. It has a 2,000-metre runway — lengthened precisely so scheduled aircraft could land, with a further extension planned — and a new terminal with five gates and no jet bridges: you walk or take a shuttle to the plane.
The size shows in everything. Minutes pass between landing and the taxi rank, there is one baggage belt, and arrivals is a single hall: finding whoever is waiting for you needs no instructions. On departure the opposite of Capodichino applies: two hours is almost always enough.
In November 2026 it stands in for Naples
From 1 to 30 November 2026 Capodichino closes to resurface its runway, and part of its traffic moves here: nine airlines — among them ITA Airways, easyJet, Eurowings, Iberia, Luxair, Transavia, Vueling, flyDubai and Neos — bring to Salerno services to Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris Orly, Milan Malpensa, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Luxembourg, Dubai and Sharm el-Sheikh. The rest is redistributed to Rome, and some flights simply go: Salerno does not have the capacity to replace Capodichino entirely.
Two warnings for anyone flying in those weeks. First, check the code on your ticket, because NAP and QSR are two different airports an hour apart, and booking ground transport without looking means being met on the wrong side of the bay. Second, the length of the works depends partly on the weather, so the reopening announced for early December is worth re-checking close to the date. The full picture is in our article on Naples airport closing in November.
How far it is from where you are going
These are distances measured on the real road, not as the crow flies, and the times are for an ordinary day: in summer, on the SS163 coast road, add to them.
| Destination | From Salerno (QSR) | From Naples (NAP) |
|---|---|---|
| Salerno centre | 21 km · 30 min | 68 km · 1 h 10 |
| Vietri sul Mare | 25 km · 35 min | 55 km · 1 h 10 |
| Paestum | 32 km · 50 min | 110 km · 1 h 40 |
| Agropoli and the Cilento | 39 km · 1 h 05 | 117 km · 1 h 55 |
| Maiori and Minori | 40 km · 50 min | 70 km · 1 h 25 |
| Amalfi | 45 km · 55 min | 66 km · 1 h 25 |
| Ravello | 49 km · 1 h | 60 km · 1 h 30 |
| Positano | 62 km · 1 h 25 | 63 km · 1 h 30 |
| Sorrento | 72 km · 1 h 35 | 53 km · 1 h 20 |
| Naples | 76 km · 1 h 15 | 10 km · 25 min |
The table says something the airport’s name does not: Salerno’s advantage does not cover the whole Amalfi Coast. At the eastern end — Vietri, Maiori, Minori, Amalfi, Ravello — you save between thirty and forty minutes, and towards Paestum and the Cilento close to an hour. But for Positano the two airports are level, because from Salerno you drive the whole hairpin coast road while from Naples you take the motorway as far as Castellammare; and for Sorrento, Naples and the islands Capodichino wins.
Leaving the airport without a car
Here the small terminal becomes a disadvantage: public connections exist but there are few of them, and nearly all go through Salerno station.
- Salerno Airlink: the direct bus between the airport and Salerno railway station, about forty minutes, 5 euros (8 as a supplement on a Trenitalia ticket), every day. It stops in Piazza Vittorio Veneto, in front of the station.
- City bus Line 8: links Salerno and Battipaglia passing by here, costs little over a euro and takes longer. It makes sense if you are local, not with luggage.
- Train: there is no station at the airport — the rail link is planned, not built. You reach Salerno station by bus, and that station is a real hub: Frecce to Rome and Naples, regional trains to the Cilento.
- Ferry: boats to Amalfi and Positano leave from Salerno’s Molo Manfredi, but only from April to October. In November — exactly the month when Naples flights land here — the coast can only be reached by road.
- Coast buses: they leave from Salerno station, cost a few euros and stop everywhere. With suitcases and in the dark they are the hardest part of the journey.
In short: without a car you can get anywhere, but with two changes and an extra hour. That is why the share of passengers booking a transfer is higher here than in Naples — not for comfort, for lack of direct alternatives.
When Salerno wins, and when Naples does
Outside November 2026 the choice is a real one, because the two airports sell different routes. It is worth saying plainly, even when the answer is not the one that brings us more work.
- Choose Salerno if you are staying in Salerno, Paestum, the Cilento or at the eastern end of the coast, from Vietri to Ravello: you save between half an hour and an hour on the road.
- For Positano it makes no difference, at least in time: let the fare and the arrival hour decide.
- Choose Naples for the city, Sorrento, Pompeii or the islands: Capodichino is closer to all four, has far more flights, and is served by the Alibus and direct coaches to Sorrento.
- Look at the schedule before the price: Salerno has few routes and many of them seasonal. One flight a day means a delay cannot be made up.
The terminal, in practice
Do not expect a big airport: there are few bars and shops, and at some hours they open only around flights. Anyone on an early departure should have breakfast elsewhere. The car park is a few steps from the terminal and is paid by the hour, which is handy for whoever is dropping you off. There are taxis but not many: outside flight times it is better to have transport already booked, especially if you land in the evening.
A note on the name: the airport is called Costa d’Amalfi, but the coast itself starts some forty kilometres further on. It is a marketing promise, not an address — and Positano, from here, is still an hour and twenty-five away, exactly as it is from Naples.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Salerno airport?
In Pontecagnano Faiano, about twenty kilometres south-east of Salerno. Its code is QSR and it appears on tickets as Salerno Costa d’Amalfi. Do not confuse it with NAP, which is Naples Capodichino: the two airports are an hour apart.
How do you get to the Amalfi Coast from Salerno airport?
By car: Amalfi is about 45 kilometres and 55 minutes away, Ravello an hour, Maiori around fifty minutes, Positano an hour and twenty-five. Without a car you take the Salerno Airlink bus to Salerno station and the coast bus from there; from April to October there is also the ferry from Salerno’s pier, which does not run in winter.
Is there a bus from the airport to Salerno station?
Yes, it is called Salerno Airlink: it links the airport to Salerno railway station in about forty minutes, every day, for 5 euros (8 when added to a Trenitalia ticket). It stops in Piazza Vittorio Veneto, in front of the station. There is also city bus Line 8, slower and cheaper.
Is it better to fly into Salerno rather than Naples?
It depends where you are sleeping. For Salerno, Paestum, the Cilento and the eastern end of the Amalfi Coast — Vietri, Maiori, Amalfi, Ravello — Salerno is closer and saves between half an hour and an hour. For Positano the two airports are equivalent. For Naples itself, Sorrento, Pompeii and the islands, Capodichino is still better, and it has far more flights.
How early do you need to be at Salerno for a flight?
The terminal is small and security is quick: two hours before departure is normally enough, even on busy days. That is the concrete advantage of an airport handling a few hundred thousand passengers a year.
The figures, routes and times on this page are those of October 2026 and change with the airline seasons: the sources to check before travelling are the airport’s own site and your airline’s. What does not change is the geography — and that is the only thing that should decide which of the two airports you land at.
From Pontecagnano to the coast, no changes
Your driver waits in arrivals with a sign: Amalfi in under an hour, Paestum in fifty minutes, Positano in an hour and twenty-five. One vehicle, luggage inside, even when the ferries have stopped.
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