Free parking (for two hours) has disappeared, with the space now dedicated to operators. The chronic emergency related to parking at Cagliari airport is enriched with a new chapter: at the beginning of a summer season, which Sogaer has already anticipated to be record-breaking , parking spaces for users are being reduced. With passengers - in 2024 the ceiling of 5 million has been broken - who have repeatedly highlighted the inconveniences related to the lack of spaces, and with the wild parking at the roundabout at the entrance to the airport that has never stopped. Sogaer promises: "We must guarantee that passengers can take their flights, with new parking spaces". But in the meantime, for the over 80,000 people expected for Easter, there will be fewer spaces than last month .
The first change, already in force for a few weeks, concerns the parking lot previously known as “Free2Park”, which since July 2023 hosted cars parked for free for a maximum of two hours. A solution that had not completely solved the problems. Since the end of March it is no longer available: the area has been reorganized, destined for the operators of the Cagliari airport . «In an emergency we had to make some choices», reports the CEO of Sogaer, Fabio Mereu. «Unfortunately the parking lots are full. For Summer 2025 we have transferred the operators there, because we also have to take into account the large number of seasonal workers – increased compared to previous years – who need to find a place». The company, in any case, does not exclude the possibility of establishing a free area again.
It won't be free like the previous one, but Cagliari airport is soon aiming to inaugurate a new parking lot called P5 in the Santa Caterina area, near the multi-storey car park. "It will start in the first week of May," anticipates Sogaer's commercial director, David Crognaletti. " It will have a promotional rate of 6 euros per day, with 250 spaces available . The idea is to test it for a few months, to understand how users react: it provides an alternative to the low-cost and extra low-cost car parks, which are further down the road." The aim of this new car park - which will bring the total number of spaces for users to 1,700 - is to reduce inconvenience, in view of a summer season that Sogaer anticipates will be record-breaking.
At the end of Summer 2025, another innovation is expected at Cagliari airport: «We are launching the tender for the construction of the intermodal parking lot, which will be near the train station, and we hope it can start within the year», announces Mereu. It will have 400 spaces and will be located between the multi-storey car park and the station, in an area that is currently uncultivated land . «It will also serve as an interchange car park, with the presence of public transport, and we are working in this direction with Rfi for the rail connections. The goal is to improve parking for users and airport operators: we are also implementing, at the multi-storey car park, the possibility of seeing in real time how many parking spaces are available and on which floor», adds Crognaletti.