NEWS

WARWICK — Salvatore Cefaliello watched the ceremonial hustle and bustle at Rhode Island’s T. F. Green Airport in late June, as federal, state, and local dignitaries spoke at Condor Airlines’ inaugural nonstop flight to Frankfurt — the one he was about to take to connect to his native Italy for a family visit. For Cefaliello, longtime chef at Venda Ravioli on Providence’s Federal Hill, getting to Italy in the past meant starting at Logan Airport. Now with Condor flying direct to Germany, he can connect much more easily — and far more cheaply. “This was $1,064, round trip,” said Cefaliello, a Cranston resident who uses Green to fly to Mexico and Florida for vacations. “Alitalia was about $3,000. This is cheaper, and I don’t have to go to Boston, where late at night it’s hard to get a bus back to Providence.” Condor, a subsidiary of the British Thomas Cook Group, flies twice weekly to and from Germany through Sept. 3, resuming in the spring. It offers 135 connecting flights from Frankfurt. Sigrid Berka was also taking the inaugural flight. The German native is director of the international engineering program at the University of Rhode Island and regularly takes students on educational trips. Flying from Green, she said, “will save URI a lot of money. And I have friends in Boston who will use this because it’s so much cheaper.” Green has long operated in the shadow of Logan; the Condor connection represents a huge international push for an airport in the nation’s smallest state. And it comes in hopes of boosting declining annual passenger counts that have dropped from a peak of 5.75 million in 2005 to 3.6 million last year, according to Kelly Fredericks, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Airport Corp., which runs Green. “Our mantra is to get back to the 5 million passenger count and beyond,” said Fredericks of an airport that now has five carriers where it once had 11 in 2005. “With that critical mass, we’ll get more frequency, new routes, larger planes, and more blocks of low-cost fares.” Fredericks said Frankfurt is “the most internationally connected airport in the world,” and with Condor and TACV-Cabo Verde Airlines, which began year-round service to Cape Verde in early June, catering to a large Portuguese population in the area, “we think it will shine an enormous bright light on us.” Improvements and additions continue to be made at Green, most notably a major runway extension. By the end of 2017, one will be extended to 8,700 feet, enabling bigger planes to land, which will have a “tremendous impact on domestic flights, we’ll be able to do nonstops from coast to coast,” said Alan Andrade, senior vice president of operations and management at Green, who said the last runway extension was in the 1970s. “That’s what penalizes us the most, travelers wanting more nonstops.” Parking has improved, with nearly 8,000 total spaces from short-term to economy lots. In recent years, a commuter garage opened, and a new rail service connects the airport to Boston’s South Station. Improvements that passengers will readily notice include constant upgrades to the terminal, one building housing all of Green’s 22 gates. Dining options have increased, and include a Wolfgang Puck Express, Shipyard Brew Pub, Providence Oyster Bar, two Dunkin’ Donuts, and a Beach Market kiosk. There’s a small duty-free shop at Green, as well as an Immigration and Customs entry point that Fredericks said “will never be like Logan, but it’s a great facility that can accommodate a couple of international flights at one time.” He calls Green “a large fish in a smaller pond.” Landing major carriers like Condor and TACV-Cabo Verde Airlines was the result of “tremendous blood, sweat, and luck. Each was, I like to say, an 18-month plus overnight success.” Asked what other airlines Green is wooing, he said “Our number one opportunity is London, that’s doable for us, and Ireland. The Dominican Republic and Cancun are on our radar as well.” Australian-born Titus Johnson, vice president of North America and Caribbean for the Thomas Cook Group, said Rhode Island is ideal for Condor, which he said has a reputation for going into smaller, niche markets. The region’s heritage will make it attractive to Europeans, he said. Evan Smith, president and CEO of Destination Newport, was at the Condor inaugural sendoff, and sees the new European nonstop service as vital to state tourism. “For years, I’ve traveled the world saying, ‘You can get to Rhode Island through New York or Boston,’ ” Smith said. “Now I can say you can get here directly. . . . It’s the dawn of a new era.” Paul E. Kandarian can be reached at pkandarian@aol .com.