Fellini Airport is located in the southern frazione of Miramare, 5.2 kilometres (3.2 mi) southeast of Rimini's city centre and near Riccione.

[13][14] Alongside its civilian history, the airport has a notable military history: it was the home of the 5th Aerobrigade [it] of the Italian Air Force between 1956 and 2010,[15] and during the Cold War, it was identified by the Warsaw Pact as a strategic target in the event of an all-out war,[15][16] housing several thousand Italian and NATO soldiers and thirty B61 nuclear bombs.

On 15 June 1929, the Office of Civil Aviation approved a thrice-weekly summer passenger service to Milan, operated by Avio Linee Italiane; the maiden flight landed in Rimini on 17 August.

[5] In 1931, the airfield was designated as a stopover on flights between Rome and London, and services began to Venice, Vienna, Munich, and Brindisi.

[5] Civil aviation continued, and from 20 July 1939, an overnight service allowed business travellers to return to Milan after a day on Rimini's beach.

[17] The airport sustained heavy aerial bombardment in the Second World War, when it was used as a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Allied soldiers.

The 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade and the 18th New Zealand Armoured Regiment engaged the airport, whose defence and capture was central to the Battle of Rimini.

[15] The opening of state archives in Budapest revealed that the airport was identified by the Warsaw Pact as a sensitive target in the event of an all-out war.

In its place, the military sector would inaugurate an educational hub including a kindergarten and nursery school at the site of the former barracks.

[25] In 1958, after a campaign by senator Gino Zannini [it], the airport reopened to civilian traffic for fortnightly flights to London.

[26] The authorisation was granted on 23 February 1958 at a meeting in Rome between military and civil authorities and a delegation of Aero Club Rimini, led by aviator Tullio de Prato [it].

[7] Prior to the opening of the A14 tolled highway in 1966, Fellini Airport was the main gateway to the riviera romagnola for foreign tourists, who constituted 60% of the tourism market.

[9] In May and June 2004, Fellini saw increased passenger movements as a result of redirected flights from Bologna Airport, which was closed for works.

[29] Russian airlines dominated among the first companies to fly to the reopened airport, including Transaero, VIM, Yamal, and Ural.

[36][37][38][39] In June 2022, Ariminum sued Albawings for advertising flights to Rimini that were landing at Forlì with an onwards bus connection.

[40] Albawings had flown from Fellini Airport with 30,000 annual passengers from 2016 until October 2021, when it unexpectedly resumed post-pandemic operations at Forlì, for which Ariminum requested compensation.

[41] In February 2022, security captured a roe deer that had been roaming in the airport grounds for several months after her fawn had become trapped inside.

[2] On 22 April 2021, the airport was equipped with Required Navigation Performance satellite approaches, permitting more aircraft movements during adverse weather conditions.

[52] In June 2018, the subsequent management company, Airiminum, repainted the terminal sign to read Aeroporto Internazionale di Rimini e San Marino (Rimini and San Marino International Airport), replacing the previous Aeroporto Internazionale Federico Fellini (Federico Fellini International Airport).

[53] The most significant agreement, ratified on 16 September 2013, provided San Marino a forty-year concession over some areas of Fellini Airport.

The Rimini Sud junction of the tolled A14 motorway, which follows the ancient Via Aemilia northwest to Bologna and runs south along the Adriatic coast to Taranto, is located 800 m (2,600 ft) along the SS72 state road.

[66] The city council plans to construct an additional 200-space car park to serve the airport by the Metromare stop.

[65] The airport is indirectly connected to the Metromare trolleybus rapid transit line that runs between the railway stations of Rimini and Riccione.

To reach the airport, passengers descending from the Metromare need to go south along the Via Cavalieri di Vittorio Veneto, past the roundabout with Viale Losanna/Viale Felice Carlo Pullè, then northwest along the busy SS16 [it] Via Flaminia state road.

[72][73] In September 2021, the municipal council approved a project that would allow pedestrians to reach the Metromare stop by lit segregated walkways and cross the SS16 by traffic lights.