MUGFOUNDRY

British holidaymakers can explore new frontiers this summer with the launch of a direct flight route to one of Italy’s most beautiful destinations.

From May 22, British Airways will fly from London Gatwick to Salerno, a city known as the gateway to the Amalfi Coast — a region famed for colourful towns, limoncello and la dolce vita.

Salerno Costa d’Amalfi airport only opened in July last year — giving tourists the option to fly directly into the Amalfi Coast rather than Naples, which is about a 90-minute drive.

BA will operate a thrice-weekly seasonal service, with flights taking off on Monday, Thursday and Saturday until 25 October. Return flights are available from £168.

It comes weeks after Jet2 cancelled flights to Salerno before they even got off the ground.

The airline said it was axing planned routes from Manchester and Birmingham airports ‘in response to demand’.

EasyJet currently operates seasonal flights between Gatwick and Salerno, while Ryanair also flies seasonally from Stansted.

Things to do in Salerno, Italy

While the Amalfi Coast is known as a jet-setters’ paradise, the southwestern city of Salerno has a grittier reputation.

Until now, the city has remained relatively untouched by mass tourism, though the opening of the airport is sure to change that.

Edgier and less glitzy than nearby Positano, with its swanky hotels and opulent restaurants, Salerno is still a fascinating place full of ancient history, pretty beaches and world-class cuisine.

It has buckets of historical significance, mostly because it was home to Salerno Medical School — Europe’s first medical institution.

Must-visit attractions include Arechi Castle, an imposing Byzantine fort that towers 263m above the city, and the Duomo, an 11th-century cathedral widely considered to be the most beautiful medieval church in Italy.

According to local guides, the best way to see the city is to wander its charming medieval streets and people-watch at one of its many lively cafes.

Less than a 25-minute drive from the centre of Salerno is Parco Naturale Diecimare, a 444-hectare park with dozens of hiking trails that capture panoramic views of the city.

The city boasts a tree-lined seafront promenade that Lonely Planet describes as the most attractive in Italy.

Like every town in the Campania region, Salerno’s food is one of its biggest drawcards. Standouts include traditional seafood pasta called scialatielli, and sfogliatella, a shell-shaped pastry stuffed with sweet cream.

An affordable base

While it doesn’t have the wow factor of its ritzier neighbours, Salerno makes an excellent and affordable base for exploring the region.

It’s close to many of Italy’s top tourist destinations, including Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius.

Metro did some digging and found four-star hotels in the heart of Salerno offering nightly rates of £84 in May. Comparing rates for the same night, the price of a four-star hotel in Positano shot up to £258.

Salerno is one of many new routes BA is launching this year, as part of a major shake-up to its existing flight schedule.

In May, it will launch two more Italian routes – Rimini on the Adriatic Coast from London Heathrow, and Olbia in Sardinia from London City – as well as twice-daily flights to Tokyo.

This comes alongside the airline’s return to Georgia’s capital Tbilisi after a 12-year hiatus, and to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia for the first time in five years.