| International Locarno Airport | |
| Nativename: | Aeroporto cantonale di Locarno |
| Location: | Gordola, Ticino, Switzerland |
| Coordinates: | 46.1653°N 8.8778°W |
| Icao: | LSZL / LSMO |
| Type: | Public/Military |
| Metric-Rwy: | Yes |
| R1-Number: | 08L/26R |
| R1-Length-F: | 2,626 |
| R1-Length-M: | 800 |
| R1-Surface: | Asphalt |
| R2-Number: | 08C/26C |
| R2-Length-F: | 2,560 |
| R2-Length-M: | 780 |
| R2-Surface: | Grass |
| R3-Number: | 08R/26L |
| R3-Length-F: | 2,560 |
| R3-Length-M: | 780 |
| R3-Surface: | Grass |
| Pushpin Map: | Switzerland |
| Pushpin Label: | LSZL/LSMO |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Metric-Elev: | yes |
| Elevation-F: | 652 |
| Elevation-M: | 198 |
International Locarno Airport, mil ICAO code LSMO, also known as Locarno-Magadino Airport, is an airport located near the city of Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland. It is a mixed civilian and military airport. The airfield is used simultaneously by civilian aircraft and the Swiss Air Force from the "airfield command Locarno". Although they use the same runways, the Swiss Air Force has its own taxiways and parking and a large hangar. It is located in the community of Gordola, seven kilometers east of the Locarno city center. The nearest stop to the Swiss Federal Railways is the 2 km distant station Riazzino of railway Giubiasco Locarno.
The civilian section of the airport was opened in the summer of 1939. The military section followed the following winter. Since 1941, the Swiss Air Force use it most, because of good weather conditions, for basic flight training of military pilots. At the end of World War II, Swiss authorities identified existing locations that were to be modernized as regional airports, a second tier of infrastructure to support the primary urban airports, with Locarno-Magadino being one of the five.[1]
One paved runway, two grass runways, and one terminal are present at the airport. The airport is accessible by road by the Cantonale Street which connects to Route 13, which leads to a highway which bypasses the city and many interchanges help to get on and off the highway. The airport is bound by the scenic view of the Alps. The airport area itself includes companies such as the helicopter charter company "Eliticino", a partner of Heliswiss, Europe's largest skydive center "Para Centro", the flight school "Aero Locarno", the aircraft maintenance company "Aeromecchanica" and the Rega (air rescue) (Rega Base 6).
The majority of aircraft movements are performed by smaller private aircraft. Most aircraft movements are civilian VFR training flights and training flights by the Swiss Air Force, the helicopter charter company "Eliticino" and the local gliding club, the latter using the two grass runways exclusively. Rega A109 helicopters operate 24h.
In the period from 1999 to 2007, the airfield command spent around 100 million Swiss francs. The infrastructure has been completely renewed. It has a large new hangar with solar power system in which all aircraft are housed, a private, enclosed runway with private taxiway to runway 26R/08L. Furthermore, the new Hangar 5 was established for Armee-Aufklärungsdetachement 10 and Fallschirmaufklärer Kompanie 17.
Aelo has been training pilots for over thirty years. Many of their alumni have gone on to work as professional airline pilots for major international airlines such as Swiss, Ryanair, Lufthansa, Etihad, and Emirates. Some have pursued a career as military pilots, flying FA-18s or Super Pumas for the Swiss Air Force. Others have chosen to become flight instructors, passing on their enthusiasm and knowledge to students who have chosen aviation as their goal.
Aero Locarno is certified by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation as an "Approved-Training-Organisation (ATO)". The training completed at their flight school is recognized in all member states of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
Their motto is “safety first". They offer professional instructors and services throughout the year at the Locarno airport facility to ensure the safety of their courses.
Aero Locarno offers the following courses:- Private Pilot Course (PPL)- VFR Radiotelephony (RTF)- Night Flight Qualification (NIT)- Second Period Courses- Instrumental SEP/MEP Flight Course (IR) and IFR RTF- Commercial Pilot Course (CPL), Airline Pilot Theory (ATPL)- Instructor Course (FI)- Qualification for Pilatus PC6, PC7 and PC12- Multi Crew Coordination Courses (MCC and APS)- Jet Oriented Course (JOC)
The most important Locarno command aircraft stationed at the airfield is the Pilatus PC-7 for completing basic training for aspiring military pilots. At the same time the airfield command Locarno is the unofficial base of the Aerobatics formation PC-7 Team, also the Pilatus PC-6 Turbo-Porter, Pilatus PC-9, Eurocopter EC635, Eurocopter AS532 Cougar, Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma and ADS-95 (RUAG Ranger).