# Olbia: an airport and Sardinia's main port > Olbia Costa Smeralda handled 4,161,572 passengers in 2025, up 7.2%, on seasonal traffic. Its port moved over 47,000 people in 48 hours at Ferragosto. URL: https://myitalia.it/plan/airports/olb Last updated: 2026-09-11 Olbia Costa Smeralda (OLB) handled 4,161,572 passengers in 2025, 7.2% more than in 2024, and the town is also Sardinia's main sea gateway. ## OLB, in figures Olbia Costa Smeralda (IATA OLB, ICAO LIEO) ranked 14th in Italy in 2025 with 4,161,572 passengers, operated by GEASAR. Traffic rose 7.2% on 2024. The operator's own monthly and cumulative figures show a strongly seasonal airport. The source does not quantify how much of the year's traffic lands in summer, so we give the annual number and not a peak we would have to estimate. ## The port next door, at its peak Over the Ferragosto weekend of August 14 and 15, 2026, Olbia's port handled more than 47,000 passengers and over 16,000 vehicles in 48 hours, with 19 ferries at the quay. The whole Sardinian port system moved about 100,000 passengers in the same two days. The port authority published those as planned figures before the weekend, and they describe 48 hours at the top of the season, not a year. They are still the clearest measure of what the town is like in mid-August, on land and at sea. ## Plane or ferry Olbia is one of 5 main passenger ports for crossings to the mainland, together with Golfo Aranci, Porto Torres, Cagliari and Arbatax. All are managed by the Sardinian port system authority. The practical split is simple: the ferry brings your own car, the plane leaves it at home. Routes, ports and the Civitavecchia crossing are on [ferries to Sardinia](/plan/ferries-to-sardinia). ## Olbia or Cagliari Cagliari Elmas handled 5,254,433 passengers in 2025, more than Olbia, but grew only 1.8% against Olbia's 7.2%. The two airports sit at opposite ends of the island. ENAC lists a third Sardinian code, AHO for Alghero Fertilia, in the northwest. Its 2025 traffic is not in our verified set. Cagliari's train into town is covered on the [Cagliari airport page](/plan/airports/cag). ## The transfer we could not verify The bus link from Olbia airport to the town center and the ferry port has no verified fare, frequency or journey time in our fact set. This page therefore prints none. If you are connecting to a ferry on a summer weekend, plan the transfer with the operator's timetable in hand and a generous margin, because the port is at its fullest exactly when the airport is. The island as a whole, with its parks and coast, is on the [Sardinia region page](/regions/sardegna). ## FAQ ### How many passengers use Olbia airport? 4,161,572 in 2025, 7.2% more than in 2024, which puts Olbia Costa Smeralda 14th in Italy. The traffic is strongly seasonal according to the operator's own monthly data, though the size of the peak is not quantified in the source. GEASAR runs the airport. ### Is Olbia the airport for the Costa Smeralda? It is the airport that carries the name: Olbia Costa Smeralda, code OLB, in the northeast of Sardinia. The island's other two commercial airports are Cagliari Elmas (CAG) in the south, with 5,254,433 passengers in 2025, and Alghero Fertilia (AHO) in the northwest. ### How busy is the port of Olbia in August? Over the Ferragosto weekend of 2026 it handled more than 47,000 passengers and over 16,000 vehicles in 48 hours, with 19 ferries at the quay, out of about 100,000 passengers for all Sardinian ports. Those were the port authority's planned figures for the peak, not an annual count. ### Which Sardinian ports have ferries to the mainland? The main passenger ports for crossings to the Italian mainland are Olbia, Golfo Aranci, Porto Torres, Cagliari and Arbatax. All of them fall under the Sardinian port system authority, which also runs Oristano, Portovesme and Santa Teresa Gallura. ### How do I get from Olbia airport to the ferry port? No fare, frequency or journey time for that transfer is verified in our fact set, so none is given here. Check the operator's timetable for your date and leave a margin: on the Ferragosto weekend of 2026 the port handled more than 47,000 people in 48 hours. ## Sources | Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until | |---|---|---|---| | L'aeroporto di Olbia Costa Smeralda (codice IATA OLB) ha registrato 4.161.572 passeggeri nel 2025 (+7,2% sul 2024), con traffico fortemente stagionale. | [Assaeroporti](https://data-upload.assaeroporti.com/download-export/2025/12); [ENAC](https://www.enac.gov.it/app/uploads/2024/04/Dati-_di_traffico_2021_220914.pdf) | medium | 2027-06-30 | | Olbia e' la principale porta d'accesso marittima alla Sardegna: nel weekend di Ferragosto 2026 il porto ha movimentato oltre 47.000 passeggeri e piu' di 16.000 veicoli al seguito in 48 ore, su un totale di circa 100.000 passeggeri nell'intero sistema portuale sardo. | [AdSP del Mare di Sardegna](https://www.adspmaredisardegna.it/en/2026/08/14/per-ferragosto-100-mila-passeggeri-nei-porti-del-sistema-della-sardegna/) | medium | 2027-08-31 | | L'aeroporto di Cagliari Elmas (codice IATA CAG) ha registrato 5.254.433 passeggeri nel 2025 (+1,8% sul 2024). | [Assaeroporti](https://data-upload.assaeroporti.com/download-export/2025/12); [ENAC](https://www.enac.gov.it/app/uploads/2024/04/Dati-_di_traffico_2021_220914.pdf) | medium | 2027-06-30 | | L'Autorita' di Sistema Portuale del Mare di Sardegna gestisce i porti di Cagliari, Olbia, Golfo Aranci, Porto Torres, Oristano, Portovesme, Arbatax e Santa Teresa Gallura; i principali scali passeggeri per i collegamenti con la penisola sono Olbia, Golfo Aranci, Porto Torres, Cagliari e Arbatax. | [AdSP del Mare di Sardegna](https://www.adspmaredisardegna.it/en/portale-del-lavoro-portuale/caratteristiche-dei-porti/); [doc 2](https://www.adspmaredisardegna.it/en/2026/08/14/per-ferragosto-100-mila-passeggeri-nei-porti-del-sistema-della-sardegna/) | medium | 2027-09-01 | | I codici IATA ufficiali dei principali aeroporti italiani, secondo l'elenco ENAC degli scali aperti al traffico civile commerciale, sono: Roma Fiumicino FCO, Roma Ciampino CIA, Milano Malpensa MXP, Milano Linate LIN, Bergamo BGY, Venezia VCE, Treviso TSF, Verona VRN, Bologna BLQ, Firenze FLR, Pisa PSA, Torino TRN, Genova GOA, Napoli NAP, Bari BRI, Brindisi BDS, Lamezia Terme SUF, Palermo PMO, Catania CTA, Trapani TPS, Cagliari CAG, Olbia OLB, Alghero AHO, Trieste TRS. | [ENAC](https://www.enac.gov.it/app/uploads/2024/04/Dati-_di_traffico_2021_220914.pdf) | medium | 2099-12-31 | ## Other languages - it: https://myitalia.it/it/organizza/airports/olb.md - es: https://myitalia.it/es/planifica/airports/olb.md - fr: https://myitalia.it/fr/preparer/airports/olb.md - de: https://myitalia.it/de/planen/airports/olb.md