Rfscenerybuilding has recently released their rendition of Abruzzo Airport (LIBP) for Microsoft Flight Simulator, serving the city of Pescara, Italy, with a yearly average of 700,000 passengers.

It was built in 1917 by the Regio Esercito (Royal Italian Army), initially with their fleet of two Farman 14s. A year later, it hosted the 302° Squadron and their Ansaldo SVA Biplanes, among the best fighter bombers of the time.

After World War I, it was renamed Pasquale Liberi after a local aviator. Then, in 1927 it was expanded to 50 hectares and modernized.

With the advent of commercial aviation in the 1930s, Abruzzo was served by Società Area Mediterranea (SAM) with a tri-weekly service from Pescara to Rome Urbe Airport with a single stop.

World War 2 stopped commercial aviation in Pescara, which only resumed two years after the war with Transadriatica and their Douglas DC-3s. Avio Linee Italiane soon joined with a route between Milan to Brindisi, with stops in Pescara, Foggia, and Bari.

‍

Most commercial operations were suspended in 1979 after a revision of the minimum landing requirements by the ANPAC, a national association of civil aviation pilots. Pescara did not have the required ILS instruments, which made airlines like Itavia shy away from operating at the airport. 

Things only improved in the early 1980s, after the arrival of Aermediterranea, a little airline controlled by Alitalia, and eventually Aero Transporti Italiani in 1984, also controlled by Alitalia. 

The current terminal was opened in 1996, and the old building was reutilized for logistical and technical support. That terminal underwent multiple improvements between 2008 and 2018, including its expansion, modernization, and renovation, costing 33 million euros.

It’s currently served by ITA Airways (Milano Linate), Luxair (Luxembourg), Ryanair (Bergamo, Bucharest–Otopeni, Catania, Charleroi, London–Stansted, Turin), and Wizz Air (Tirana).

The scenery features an accurate rendition of the airport, with custom ground textures, custom ground service equipment, custom night lighting, realistic windows, an up-to-date ground layout, and more.

It’s available on SimMarket for roughly $16.28, requiring at least 72.82 MB of free hard disk space to install.

Stay tuned to Threshold for more flight simulation news!

‍