Transport

Shortage of taxis drives up demand for the NCC by 11% per week

Data from ProntoPro show an exponential increase in the use of private transfers. Forward-looking Italians, in 36% of cases, also book the return journey. Bergamo Orio al Serio, Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino the most popular terminals

by Patrizia Maciocchi

30 August 2024

3' min read

Key points

Summer 2024: Bergamo, Malpensa and Fiumicino the 'hottest' airports
Rise in demand for round trips
Group travel: in 2024 +37% for 4-person transfer requests

3' min read

The shortage of taxis is driving up the demand for chauffeurs to and from airports by 11% per week. According to a -survey by ProntoPro - the marketplace for professional services that connects supply and demand - the most popular terminals are Bergamo Orio al Serio, Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino. Forward-looking Italians in search of certainty book the return service in 36% of cases. On the plus side, there are even 37% more requests for travel by groups of 4, but at Milan Linate, Turin and Catania people travel mostly alone.

Whether travelling for leisure or business, the need to arrive on time for flights that take off or land in the early hours of the day or during the night is prompting more and more Italians to turn to private airport transfers, which provide greater convenience and flexibility in travel. ProntoPro's analysis reveals a growing interest in private transfers, which have not only been in the Top 10 of the most requested services on the platform since the beginning of the year, but which, with the arrival of summer and holidays, have also recorded an average increase in searches of 11% on a weekly basis. A trend that peaked the week following the closure of schools, between 10 and 16 June (+21% compared to the previous seven days), and remained high even in the first week of July (+19%), coinciding with the first departures for the holidays and with the end of high school exams or the closure of university summer sessions, when many students set off on their holidays or to return to their home town.

Summer 2024: Bergamo, Malpensa and Fiumicino the 'hottest' airports

The most popular tranfers were those to the airports of Bergamo Orio al Serio (17%), Milan Malpensa (15%) and Rome Fiumicino (10%), on which most requests were concentrated.

The three thus confirm the 2023 podium, but with the Bergamo airport surpassing that of Varese in 2024, last year in first place.

This is followed by Bologna (8%), Venice (7%) - which in 2024 will be in fifth place, compared to the fourteenth obtained in 2023 -, Brindisi (6%), Cagliari and Palermo (both 5%) and Milan Linate and Naples Capodichino (both 4%), with the Campania airport losing four positions in the ranking compared to 2023.

Rise in demand for round trips

Airport transfer services in Italy are showing a growing preference for round trips: in 2024, in fact, requests reached 36%, compared to 33% in the previous year, a trend that could be attributable to a greater need for comfort and reliability, especially at night or during high season, when finding a taxi or public transport may be difficult. The demand for one-way trips from the airport to the destination address is also on the rise (28%, compared to 26% last year), while one-way transfers from the departure address are falling (36%, compared to 41% in 2023).

Compared to the national trend, there is a counter-trend in requests linked to the airports of Bari and Catania, where demand for one-way transfers from the terminal prevails, with 46% and 45% of preferences respectively compared to other types of travel for the two airports. The airports where transfers from the address to the terminal prevail are instead those of Lamezia Terme (67%) and Rome Ciampino (62%); the service is also in first place for the airports of Milan Linate (53%), Florence (50%) and Rome Fiumicino (46%).

Group travel: by 2024 +37% for 4-person transfer requests

2024 saw a significant increase in requests for airport transfers forgroups of 4 people, up 37% on the previous year. This trend, which suggests space and cost optimisation, went hand in hand with a decrease in requests for smaller groups of 2 passengers, down 18% compared to 2023.

At a territorial level, although most Italian airports mirror the national trend, some present an anomaly: at Milan Linate (41%), Turin and Catania (both at 33%), Pisa (30%), Treviso and Bari (both at 29%) and Naples Capodichino (26%) most requests come from individual travellers, a disparity that could be attributable to the type of users frequenting these airports, such as business travellers or solo tourists.