At the start of the new millennium, there was a drastic loss of interest in the airport, which in 2004 led to the move of 5th ATAF and COFA from Vicenza to Poggio Renatico. At "Dal Molin" airfield remained only the Campalgenio, the VAM and a pair of Eurofighter Typhoons with a team from the Reparto Sperimentale di Volo (Department of Experimental Flight), who tested the capacity of the aircraft (especially STOL).
From the second half of the 1990s attempts were made to revive civil activities from the airfield, with flights to Rome Fiumicino, Monaco, Olbia and Forli. These came into conflict with the limited operations capabilities of the airport, such as lack of night flying instrumentation. It took until the end
of 2006 before the runway and the airport were equipped with the necessary equipment, but no resumption of a regular air transport service took place.
In early 2007 the airport was opened to traffic between 07:00 and 20:00 LT, extendable upon request with advance notice of 24 hours. Available were IFR instrument approach procedures, customs and police control.
In 2004 the US military had announced plans to extend their military presence in Vicenza to include all elements of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team (4 of its 6 battalions were stationed in Germany). For the location of the new base it was suggested to obtain the civilian airport in disuse "Dal Molin", about two miles from Camp Ederle. The plan had been agreed with the administration of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The next government, led by Romano Prodi, had initially opposed the expansion, but in the end accepted the enlargement plan. The city committee 'No Dal Molin', who opposed the construction of the new base, organized demonstrations nationwide. But on 16 January 2007 notice was given of the official go-ahead by the Italian government for the construction of the base, at an estimated cost of about 325 million Euros.
Vicenza airfield in 2007 (Google Earth).
On 1 March 2008 the last Italian soldiers running the control tower vacated their positions and the airport became civilian. On 10 April 2008 the airport was officially wiped off the navigation charts and instrument approach procedures were abandoned. Meanwhile, new mayor Achille Variati and his council, newly elected, opposed the construction of the military base. After several months of closure, a NOTAM issued on June 12 officially reopened the airport. For some months the air traffic control service was guaranteed by the BIGA, between 07:00 and 19:00.
From 1 October 2008, because of work on the construction of the new settlement of the US military on the West side, the airfield was closed to all types of air traffic. The demolition of the track, which began on 3 February 2009, ended that same year.
The final military left the base on 28 June 2008. Before they left they made one final round: with the video camera rolling.
This photo illustrates the demolition of the airfield that had taken place until July 2009 (
prc-fed-vicenza)
Heavy construction going on at the airfield in 2010 (Google Earth)
Photo taken 25 april 2012 which illustrates how abrupt the old runway was cut off to make room for the new American barracks in Vicenza (Maori19, via
Wikimedia, under
CC BY-SA 3.0).
But still the fight over the airfield was not over. Mayor Achille Variati, recently elected to the City Council, proposed a new agenda on the project and promoted a referendum to give voice to the citizens, part of whom were protesting against the prospect of the military base. The referendum, however, was stopped four days before it was held, by the Council of State who declared the approval of a military installation by local government a "political act, not compatible with administrative law".
In November 2009 , the ENAC (Ente Nazionale Aviazione Civile, or National Civil Aviation Authority) sent a letter to Aeroporti Vicentini SPa (the company that owned the airfield) and the municipality of Vicenza, in which they acknowledged the role of "Dal Molin" airport for the region, stating that because of that CIPE (Comitato Interministeriale per la Programmazione Economica, or Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning ) had allocated 11.5 million euros for the reconstruction of the airport runway by ENAC. But in January 2010 the liquidation process of the company
that manages the airport was completed and in December 2011 the town was granted the concession of the airport, with the provision to close the flight operations, abandon the runway design and build in its place, a large public park (named Peace Park) by 2015.
While the American barracks are completed, construction of the public park is underway. One might be forgiven for thinking the trecnches look like residential streets though. (Google Earth)
At the airport, until its final closure, there were also the flying club "Ugo Capitanio" (operating since 1921 ), a flight school, the Vicenza aeronautical office and the aviation museum.
Vicenza (CLOSED) 
Vicenza (CLOSED)