Now water is free at the airport: where you can fill your bottles
Assaeroporti is supporting the initiative in 22 airports in order 'to be able to contribute to the reduction of plastic for increasingly sustainable airports'
by Mara Monti
If water in hand luggage is forbidden at airport controls, fear not: by the end of the year, 22 Assaeroporti member airports will offer departing passengers the possibility of refilling water bottles and flasks free of charge, once they have passed through security barriers, without having to buy water in coffee shops, which can cost more than two euros.
At the moment, there are only five airports in Italy where it is possible to pass the controls with liquids over 100 ml in hand luggage: Rome Fiumicino, Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa Terminal 1, Bologna airport and Turin airport, the latter only for those using fast track passages. In all the others, it is better to empty the bottles before the controls if they exceed 100 ml.
A number of airports have already adapted, such as Milan Malpensa and Linate, Naples, Bologna, Cagliari, Turin, Olbia and Alghero, where refill points have been in operation for some time. In response to the call to action promoted by Assaeroporti, numerous airports have implemented or are in the process of perfecting the installation of refill points. Refill points have been activated in the airports of Bergamo, Palermo and Cuneo, while by the end of the year they will also be present in the airports of Catania, Pisa, Florence, Trieste, Trapani, Pescara, Rimini, Comiso and Salerno, further expanding national coverage.
With different modalities, but always at no cost to travellers, the airports of Genoa and Grosseto also guarantee access to drinking water in the airside. The initiative aims to improve the travel experience of passengers and contribute to the reduction of disposable plastic. A concrete action with benefits for the environment and the community, for increasingly sustainable and traveller-friendly airports.
