Car rental at Catania Airport - For the Best of Sicily

Known locally as Aeroporto Internazionale Vincenzo Bellini di Catania-Fontanarossa, Catania Airport has two modern terminals covering a total area of almost 50,000 square-metres. Managed by S.A.C. – Società Aeroporto Catania SpA, it serves seven out of the nine Sicilian provinces and handles around ten million passengers each year. Conveniently located just 5.9 kilometres (3.7 miles) north-east of the city, the airport's history began on the 11th of May 1924 with its official inauguration and following the end of World War II it received its first flight operated by Linee Aeree Italiane Internazionali (later known as Alitalia) arriving from the Italian city of Turin.

Nestling on Sicily's east coast, right in the shadow of the mighty Mount Etna, Catania is a very historic port city that offers its visitors one of the most authentic travel experiences in the whole of Italy. The city and its surroundings are full of amazing sites of immense tourist interest with beautiful landscapes and spectacular sea and mountain at every turn for visitors exploring Sicily with a car rental in Catania. The city itself has a well-preserved Baroque Old Town with a plethora of ancient buildings and monuments to admire at any time of the year.

Catania Airport is ideal as a pick-up point for a visit to this enchanting island in the heart of the Mediterranean. The city's proximity to Mount Etna is a major attraction for many tourists who come to see and get close to one of the world's most spectacular active volcanoes, which is also the highest in Europe. Admiring its lunar landscape is a unique experience and for the more athletic climbers who make it to the top, there is the most breathtaking view of imaginable! The lower slopes of Mount Etna are also famous for their fine wines and a trip along the lava flows to visit the many wineries such as Tenuta Tascante, Cottanera and Benanti is undoubtedly one of the most memorable excursions on the island. A stay in Catania also means taking the opportunity to explore the whole of eastern Sicily and its magnificent coastline.

Visitors can immerse themselves in Catania's history by admiring the Baroque architecture of Catania Cathedral (the Basilica Cattedrale Sant'Agata) and exploring the 13th-century Castello Ursino, inside of which is a museum exhibiting local finds and many treasured artefacts. Another of Sicily's top attractions is the aforementioned Mount Etna which peaks at 3,329 metres and is still very active. In the heart of Catania lies the beautiful Piazza del Duomo, a central square with a fountain, several restaurants, cafés and some truly impressive architecture. A car hire in Catania gives travellers the opportunity to visit neighbouring towns such as Taormina and Syracuse at their leisure, as well as venturing further afield to other places of interest on Sicily like Cefalu, Palermo (the island's capital) and Trapani.

With over seventy years of experience, Auto Europe remans one of the world's leading car rental companies thanks to our effective working partnerships with all the most reputable local, national and international vehicle providers. As such, we are able to offer our many customers the lowest prices on the market, along with a wide range of vehicles at over 28,000 convenient pick-up/drop-off locations in more than 190 destinations worldwide, including Catania. You can easily book your affordable car rental at Catania Airport on our website through our high-tech booking engine and find yourself the best deal for your trip.

Airport Information

Also known as Vincenzo Bellini Airport after the locally-born opera composer, Catania's busy international airport first opened in 1924 and recently celebrated one hundred years of successful operation. Located a few kilometres south of Catania city centre, it is Sicily's busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers and is ranked fifth in the whole of Italy. The airport is served by a number of major international airlines such as Lufthansa, KLM and Alitalia with connections to several European destinations including London, Berlin, Rome, Munich, Amsterdam and Milan. Since its inauguration it has grown considerably with two new passenger terminals being added in 2018 and continues to improve its services to this day, playing a major role in the development of not just Sicily but the country in general.

Catania Airport (CTA)
Address: Via Fontanarossa, 95121 Catania CT, Italy
Telephone: +39 081 7896259
Airlines operating at Catania Airport: The list of the most important airlines operating at Catania Airport currently includes Aegean Airlines, AeroItalia, Aer Lingus, Air Arabia, airBaltic, Air Cairo, Air France, Air Serbia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, DAT, Delta Air Lines, easyJet, Edelweiss Air, Eurowings, flydubai, FLYYO, GoTo Fly, Iberia, Israir, ITA Airways, Jet2.com, KLM, KM Malta Airlines, Lufthansa, Luxair, Neos, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Ryanair, Scandinavian Airlines, SkyAlps, Smartwings, Swiss International Air Lines, Transavia, TUI fly, Turkish Airlines, Volotea, Vueling and Wizz Air.

Where to pick up a car rental at Catania Airport

Easy and inexpensive, renting a car at Catania Airport (CTA) gives you all the freedom and flexibility you need to move around as you please without having to rely on the local public transport system. Thanks to its long-standing working relationships with a large number of local and international vehicle rental companies, Auto Europe offers its customers the best rates on the market for a reliable car rental in Catania and across Sicily and Italy. Some rental partners are located inside the main terminal building, while others are located just outside the airport. In the case of the latter, the rental companies provide customers with shuttle buses between the car hire check-in desks and the airport terminal (the name of the hire company will be clearly indicated on your booking voucher). When you collect your vehicle, you will need to present your booking voucher, a credit card (always in the name of the main driver), passport and a valid driving licence. Depending on your chosen car hire company, you may be able to hire a car from the tender age of 19 upwards, but it's important to note that drivers under 25 will be charged a young driver's fee. Please read the terms and conditions on your car hire voucher very carefully and note the opening times of your local vehicle provider below.

Car rental operating hours

	Avis at Catania Airport Arrivals Terminal, Catania, Italy 95100 +39 95 340500	Opening Hours: Daily 8am-midnight
	Budget at Catania Airport Arrivals Terminal, Catania, Italy 95100 +39 95 340500	Opening Hours: Daily 8am-midnight
	Hertz at Catania Airport Arrivals Terminal Catania, Italy 95100 +39 95 341595	Opening Hours: Daily 8am-midnight
	Sixt at Catania Airport Via Fontanarossa Catania, Italy 95121 +39 02 9475 7979	Opening Hours: Daily 8am-midnight

Terminal

Modern and spacious, Catania Airport is the largest air transportation hub on the island of Sicily and the fifth-busiest in the country in terms of passenger numbers. A new terminal was built in 2007 to cope with the increase in traffic which means that CTA now comprises two terminals in total with plans for a third currently on the drawing-board. It has 22 boarding gates and six boarding bridges and the main departures area is now separate from the arrivals area, each of which is located in a different terminal. The Arrivals Hall consists of two separate areas - one for Schengen flights and the other for non-Schengen flights. The terminal covers an area of 1,400 square-metres and the commercial area (divided into five sections) with most of the bureaux de change, bars, café, shops, restaurants, etc. being located on the first-floor.

Airport Facilities

To meet the many needs of its passengers, Catania Airport offers an extensive range of on-site services, facilities and amenities in both the Arrivals and Departures areas. These include an efficient airport information desk, tourist office, first-aid post, lost-luggage service, customs area and a security checkpoint. The Departures Hall on the first floor includes check-in desks, security areas and walkways leading passengers to the boarding gates. Several other facilities are also available for travellers, such as a large food court, café-bar, children's nursery and play area, currency exchange booths, ATMs, VIP hospitality suite, airline lounges, Duty-free store, fashion boutiques, jewellery and souvenir shops and the popular Casa Alitalia Catania lounge with free Internet.

How to get to and from Catania Airport

Once you have collected your hire car from Catania airport, you can reach the city from the airport in around 15 minutes by taking Via Acquicella, Via Plebiscito or by accessing Viale Cristoforo Fioravante via Asse Attrezzato di Catania. All three routes take about the same amount of time, although a lot depends on the season and the time of day (ie outside the rush-hour). Regular bus and airport shuttle services also link CTA directly with the city centre, such as the AMT Alibus service which runs between the airport and Catania city centre every 20 minutes between 5am and midnight, plus several long-distance bus services are operated by a number of companies from the airport. Catania Airport is also well-connected to other key Sicilian destinations like Siracusa (take the E45, after which it's a 45-minute drive) and Palermo, the capital, which can be reached in around two hours via the A19 and then the E90 (please note that a motorway toll is payable). On the opposite side of the island lies Trapani, a beautiful city well worth visiting approximately 300 kilometres away.

Parking Tips

Parking along the streets of Catania seems almost impossible at first but plenty of blue-lined spaces are available in and around the city centre, but finding them can sometimes require a bit of time and patience, depending on the season. Occasionally it is more advisable to opt for one of the many municipal car parks after collecting your car rental from Catania airport, which will save you time and stress despite being a little bit more expensive than on-street parking. If you do find somewhere to park, remember to pay using the parking meter. Private car parks are a more expensive option than on-street parking but they're also safer, so in many ways they are the best way to leave your vehicle in a secure environment for a few hours whilst making the most of your holiday. Due to the high volume of traffic at Catania airport, it is advisable to use one of the multi-storey car parks if you need to park your vehicle for some time at the airport. The airport car park has a total of over 1,000 spaces, 20 of which have quick and easy access and are reserved for people with reduced mobility. The airport's car parks are divided into different categories, namely P1, P3, P5 (short-stay), P4 (low-cost) and P6 (long-stay).

Useful links

Catania Airport