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AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- Beginning Oct. 1, 2016, the Patriot Express rotator mission will no longer be available into and out of Aviano Air Base, Italy.
According to Lt. Col. Michelle Charleston, 724th Air Mobility Squadron commander, the PE mission was canceled after a U.S. Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command audit. The cancelation is currently in effect for fiscal year 2017, which runs from Oct. 1, 2016, to Sept. 30, 2017.
“It’s going away for this fiscal year,” she said. “It may come back in the future, but right now it’s no longer available.”
Space-Available opportunities into and out of Aviano will still be available on any one of an average of 47 monthly military aircraft flights. For more information, visit the Aviano Passenger Terminal Facebook page or call 0434-30-7680.
On Oct. 1, a new shuttle service – Patriot Shuttle – will be available for anyone flying into or out of Marco Polo Airport in Venice, Italy. The shuttle will be available to transport individuals between the airport and the Aviano AB Mountain View Lodge at various times, every day.
“It’s going to be really important for sponsors to relay this information to inbound personnel in order for them to get signed up,” said William Anderson, 31st Force Support Squadron Community Services chief.
To sign up for the shuttle, travelers can email the 31st FSS Information, Tickets and Travel office at itt@aviano.af.mil, visit https://www.patriotshuttle.com (on/after Oct. 1), or call 0434-30-3107. Pricing information can be found online and payment must be made before ITT can reserve the seats. After signing up and paying, travelers will receive an email confirmation with their shuttle time and pickup location. Deployers, who need shuttle support, must contact their unit deployment manager.
Official travelers must use their government travel card to make payment. All shuttle or taxi expenses and luggage fees are reimbursable, with the exception of pet fees. For travel expense questions, contact your unit Defense Travel System monitor.
“This is a brand new process. It’s going to have kinks and we’re going to work them out, but we’ll make it work,” said Anderson.
