Landing at Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport

What BLQ is like

Bologna sits at the crossing point of the Italian rail network, which makes this airport worth more than its size suggests. A great many people who land here are not staying in Bologna at all, but changing onto a train for Florence, Venice or further south. The terminal is compact and you are out of it quickly. A short automated shuttle links the airport to the central railway station, and that connection is what turns a regional airport into a national interchange.

On arrival

Switch the line on while you are still seated, because there is no long corridor here in which to sort the phone out as you walk. European arrivals usually skip passport control and reach the belts within minutes. The arrivals hall is small with only a few ways out, and the signs to the automated shuttle are clear from the terminal. If you are already holding a train ticket for a connection, open it and check the platform while you are still inside the airport, since the central station at a busy hour leaves you little room to stand and read a departure board.

How far the airport Wi-Fi gets you

The Wi-Fi works and the small hall means you are not competing with as many handsets as at a major hub, though the registration page is still in the way. The difficulty is that almost everything you do next happens outside the building. There is no airport Wi-Fi on the shuttle or on the platforms at the central station, and the high-speed trains are their own matter. With a mobile line running you can open a ticket and read a platform anywhere along that chain without wondering whether you are inside a Wi-Fi zone.

Getting into town

The usual way in is the short automated shuttle that runs straight to the central railway station, from where trains reach nearly every major Italian city. On board the signal does not vanish, though it wobbles a little on the elevated sections. Bologna's own centre is close enough to reach quickly by bus or car if that is where you are staying. What actually consumes data is the leg after this one: the high-speed line between Bologna and Florence runs through long tunnels and drops out repeatedly. Airport to platform costs under 100MB. The habit worth keeping is storing the ticket on the phone rather than opening it from an email link as the train is about to leave.

What people ask about this airport

• Store the train ticket offline — The tunnels towards Florence cut the signal repeatedly. A ticket already saved on the phone makes an onboard check a non-event.
• Treat it as an interchange — Many people land here only to catch a train. Check the next departures while still inside, so you pick one with enough slack for the bags.
• A city you walk all day — The old centre is covered by long arcaded walkways, so people walk far and keep the map open. Budget more daily data than a city this size suggests.