Rome–Fiumicino International Airport "Leonardo da Vinci" ( it, Aeroporto Internazionale di Roma–Fiumicino "Leonardo da Vinci"; ) is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

Fiumicino Fiumicino () is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 80,500 (2019). It is known for being the site of Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, the busiest airport in Italy and the eleventh-bu ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, serving

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. It is the busiest airport in the country, the eleventh-busiest airport in Europe and the world's 49th-busiest airport with over 43.5 million passengers served. It covers an area of . The airport served as the main hub for

Alitalia Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana Società per azioni, S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of ...

, formerly the

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hist ...

and largest Italian

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

, which terminated operations on 15 October 2021. It is now the main international hub for Alitalia's successor

ITA Airways Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A., trading as ITA Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Italy. It is fully owned by the Government of Italy via the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The airline flies to over 60 scheduled domestic, E ...

. As of 2022, it has won the “Best Airport Award” in the category of hubs with over 40 million passengers, issued by Airports Council International (ACI) Europe, for three years in a row.

History

Early years

During construction the remains of

Caligula's Giant Ship Caligula's "Giant Ship", also known as the "Round Ship", was a very large barge, the ruins of which were found during the construction of Rome's Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Fiumicino, Italy. This was previously a Roman port a few ...

were found. The airport was officially opened on 15 January 1961, with two

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

s, replacing the smaller

Rome Ciampino Airport , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, which remains in service for some low-cost airlines as well as domestic and charter operations. Despite being officially opened in 1961, Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport had actually been in use since 20 August 1960. This was to help relieve air traffic that was congesting Rome Ciampino Airport during the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

. During the 1960s, former home-based Alitalia invested heavily in the new airport, building hangars and maintenance centres; in the same period a third runway was added (16L/34R).

Later development

Security Services transferred from the

Polizia di Stato The ''Polizia di Stato'' (State Police or P.S.) is one of the national police forces of Italy. Alongside the Carabinieri, it is the main police force for providing police duties, primarily to cities and large towns, and with its child agencies ...

(Italian State Police) to Aeroporti di Roma S.p.A. in 2000. Aeroporti di Roma created ADR Security S.r.l. (100%-owned) to provide these services as well as security services to airlines (in competition with other security companies such as IVRI). Airport Security is supervised by Polizia di Stato,

Guardia di Finanza The ''Guardia di Finanza'' (G. di F. or GdF) () (English: literal: ''Guard of Finance'', paraphrased: ''Financial Police'' or ''Financial Guard'') is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. ...

(Italian Customs Police),

Italian Civil Aviation Authority , seal = Emblem of Italy.svg , seal_size = 100 , seal_caption = Seal of the Italian Republic , logo = , formed = , jurisdiction = Government of Italy , headquarters = Viale Castro Pretorio, 118, 00185 Roma RM, Italy , coordinates = , em ...

and Aeroporti di Roma S.p.A.. Ground handling services were provided by Aeroporti di Roma until 1999, when it created Aeroporti di Roma Handling (to serve all airlines except for

, which continued to be handled by Aeroporti di Roma itself). Alitalia provided passenger assistance even before 1999. In 2001, Alitalia created "Alitalia Airport" and started providing ground handling for itself and other airlines. Aeroporti di Roma Handling remains the biggest handler in terms of airlines handled, but Alitalia Airport is the biggest handler in terms of airplanes handled as Alitalia aircraft account for 50% of the ones at Fiumicino. In May 2006, Italy's Civil Aviation Authority announced that it took off the limitation of 3 ramp handlers in Rome Leonardo da Vinci airport. ARE Group and

Aviapartner Aviapartner, whose origins date back to 1949 under the name of Herfurth Air Services to become 'Belgavia' in the late 1960s, is a Belgian company that provides ground handling services at 37 airports in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain an ...

announced that they would create a company called Aviapartner (51% Aviapartner; 49% ARE Group) to serve Milan Malpensa and Rome Leonardo da Vinci. Since 2005, the airport operates a category III B

instrument landing system In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...

(ILS). Further improvement work was implemented in 2007 to enable the airport to handle 30

takeoff Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a t ...

landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...

s per hour, up from 10, in the event of thick fog. Three runways presently operate at Leonardo da Vinci airport: 16L/34R and 16R/34L (separated by a distance of , and 07/25, used only westwards for takeoffs owing to the prevailing winds. The airport used to have a fourth runway, 16C/34C which was located alongside 16L/34R, it was mostly used as a taxiway or as a backup for 16L/34R; the runway is now designated as Taxiway "D". In 2010, the new single baggage handling system for more efficient luggage delivery began operations. Several projects are planned. These include the construction of an environmentally-friendly

cogeneration Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...

system, which would allow the airport to produce its own energy; the "Masterplan Fiumicino Nord", involving four new terminals and two new runways to be built in the future handling 100 million passengers per year.

Terminals

Overview

As of 2021, after major expansion and refurbishment works, the airport now features two reorganised passenger terminals, one of which is currently operational.adr.it – Airport map
retrieved 25 July 2021 *Terminal 1 (Gates ''A1–A83'') has been closed for renovations with many gates currently unused, its main pier is currently being expanded with a second one next to it. *Terminal 3 (Gates ''E1–E52'') is the largest terminal which serves as the home base for

amongst several other airlines. It also incorporates the former ''Terminal 5'' as well as the satellite building for non-Schengen departures. A new central airside hall has been built as its middle part in recent years.

Development

The terminals were upgraded during the 1990s and 2000s. In 1991, the domestic Pier A with 12 gates opened, followed in 1995 by the international Pier B with 10 gates and in 1999 by the international Satellite C with 14 gates. In 2000, the new domestic Terminal A opened, and the terminal buildings, then consisting of Terminal A (with Pier A), Terminal AA, Terminal B (with Pier B) and Terminal C (with Satellite C), were reorganized. The dedicated

Cargo City Kuwait International Airport ( ar, مطار الكويت الدولي, ) is an international airport located in the Farwaniya Governorate, Kuwait, south of the centre of Kuwait City, spread over an area of . It serves as the primary hub for Ku ...

terminal was added in 2004, while the check-in counters for

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started o ...

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called ...

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

and

El Al El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural ...

in Terminal 5 opened in 2008, with passengers then being bused to what was then called Satellite C. In 2009, the terminals were renamed – A was renamed T1, AA was renamed T2, B and C became T3, and T5 stayed the same. In January 2017, Terminal 5 was closed for renovations; a new central airside hall is currently being built in the middle section. The former Terminal 2 closed permanently on 15 December 2017 to make way for the north-west expansion of Terminal 1. A new three-storey boarding and waiting area, as well as a new Pier A with 13 boarding and 10 remote gates, are currently being constructed alongside Terminal 1, to open in Summer 2022.Helen Norman
Transforming the passenger experience at Rome-Fiumicino Airport
April 16, 2021 From 17 March 2020 to 6 August 2021, Terminal 1 has been closed due to decreased passenger traffic amidst the Covid-19 pandemic; this pause was used to perform a redesign of the main hall layout, which increased the available passenger space. Future plans include a new Terminal 4, expansion of runways, and new buildings for car parking, services, and airport facilities.

SkyBridge

An automated

people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...

(APM) called SkyBridge opened in 1999 along with the Satellite C. It consists of two stations, one in the third floor of Terminal 3, and the other in the second floor of gate area E31–44. This

shuttle train A shuttle train is a train that runs back and forth between two points, especially if it offers a frequent service over a short route. Shuttle trains are used in various ways, in various parts of the world. They commonly operate as a fixed consi ...

is the only means of transport for passengers between the two parts of the terminal. The westbound service, from T3 to Gates E31–44, is for departing passengers only, while the eastbound service is for arriving passengers only. Arriving passengers are not permitted to take the train back, as they need to pass through a transfer

security checkpoint Civilian checkpoints or security checkpoints are distinguishable from border or frontier checkpoints in that they are erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary control. Civilian checkpoints have been employed w ...

to reenter the departure area. Likewise, departing passengers are not permitted to take the train back to Terminal 3.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled, seasonal and charter flights to and from Fiumicino:

Statistics

Graph

Busiest domestic routes

Busiest European routes

Busiest intercontinental routes

Ground transportation

Train

Fiumicino Aeroporto railway station Fiumicino Aeroporto railway station, or Fiumicino Airport railway station ( it, Stazione di Fiumicino Aeroporto), is sited within the Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport ( it, Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci di Fiumicino) (IATA code: FCO) in Fiumicin ...

is served by the

Leonardo Express The Leonardo Express is an airport rail service linking the center of Rome with its largest airport, Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, in the region of Lazio, central Italy. The service is operated by Trenitalia, and takes 32 minutes to trav ...

train operated by

Trenitalia Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government, the company was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail transp ...

, available at the airport terminal. It takes 30 minutes to get to Termini Station in a non-stop trip that is provided every 15 minutes. Alternatively, local trains (FL1 line) leave once every 15 minutes, stopping at all stations. However, these trains do not head to Termini station. Passengers have to change at

Trastevere Trastevere () is the 13th ''rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'. Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lio ...

Ostiense Ostiense is the 10th ''quartiere'' of Rome, identified by the initials Q. X. The toponym comes from the original name of the Porta San Paolo, a gate in the city walls of Rome, was , because it was located at the beginning of Via Ostiense. It n ...

( Metro Piramide) or Tuscolana. The railway opened in December 1989, with non-stop and several stopping services available.

Road

Leonardo da Vinci is about by car from Rome's historic city centre. The airport is served by the six-lane Autostrada A91 motorway and numerous buses and taxis.

Incidents and accidents

From the 1960s until the 1980s, the airport experienced significant

aircraft hijacking Aircraft hijacking (also known as airplane hijacking, skyjacking, plane hijacking, plane jacking, air robbery, air piracy, or aircraft piracy, with the last term used within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States) is the unlawfu ...

s as well as being the scene of two major

terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

s and the port of origin for an aircraft bombing in flight—some engendered by Palestinians as part of the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...

. *On 23 November 1964,

TWA Flight 800 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31pm. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. K ...

, operated by a

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

, had an engine catch fire during takeoff. 50 of the 73 passengers and crew on board were killed. *On 17 December 1973, during the 1973 Rome airport attacks and hijacking, a Boeing 707-321B operating as

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

(Pan Am) Flight 110 was attacked by Palestinian assailants. 30 passengers were killed when phosphorus bombs were thrown aboard the aircraft as it was preparing for departure. During the same incident a

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...

was hijacked and landed at Athens, Damascus and finally in Kuwait. All remaining passengers and crew were then released. Two people died in the incident. *In January 1973, a number of extremists planned to attack Prime Minister

Golda Meir Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and ''kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1 ...

's plane at Fiumicino airport. They placed Strela missiles inside a number of vehicles at certain locations around the airport, but Italian and Israeli authorities were able to intercept them. *On 19 November 1977, an

Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopian Airlines (commonly referred to as Ethiopian; am, የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ, translit=Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā āyer menged), formerly ''Ethiopian Air Lines'' (EAL), is the flag carrier of Ethiopia, and is wholly owned by ...

-360C, a cargo flight, crashed after takeoff 0.5 km (0.3 m) W of FCO. The plane barely gained height after takeoff from runway 25, reaching a height of 7–8 meters, contacting treetops, and struck the ground 280 meters further on. All 5 occupants (3 crew, 2 passengers) were killed. Unconfirmed reports indicated the plane was overloaded. *On 27 December 1985, during the

Rome and Vienna airport attacks The Rome and Vienna airport attacks were two major terrorist attacks carried out on 27 December 1985. Seven Arab terrorists attacked two airports in Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria with assault rifles and hand grenades. Nineteen civilians were ...

, assailants shot and killed 16 people and wounded 99 others at the check-in counter. Most perpetrators were shot by security and police officers. *On 17 October 1988,

Uganda Airlines Flight 775 Uganda Airlines Flight 775 was a Boeing 707-338C, registration 5X-UBC, that crashed while attempting to land at Rome-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy on 17 October 1988. Thirty-three of the 52 occupants on board were killed. Flight Flight 7 ...

from

London Gatwick Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...

Entebbe International Airport Entebbe International Airport is the only international airport in Uganda. It is located about southwest of the town of Entebbe, on the northern shores of Lake Victoria. This is approximately by road south-west of the central business distric ...

via Fiumicino, crashed short of the runway after two missed approaches. Twenty-six of the 45 passengers aboard, as well as all 7 crew members, died. *On 2 February 2013, Alitalia Flight 1670, operated by a leased

ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...

, en route from

Pisa International Airport Pisa International Airport ( it, Aeroporto Internazionale di Pisa) , also named Galileo Galilei Airport is an airport located in Pisa, Italy. It is the main airport in Tuscany and the 10th in Italy in terms of passengers. It is named after Galil ...

to Rome, overran the runway during landing. Sixteen occupants were injured, two of them seriously. The aircraft was subsequently written off. *On 8 June 2013, Wizz Air Flight 3141, an

Airbus A320-232 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the famil ...

(registration HA-LWM) from Bucharest – Henri Coandă Airport,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

to Rome-Ciampino,

, made an emergency landing at Fiumicino Airport when the crew encountered problems lowering one of the main undercarriages and locking it into position. The aircraft diverted to Fiumicino because of the longer runway, and firefighters applied foam after landing as a precautionary measure. The aircraft was evacuated using slides. Initial reports of injured passengers were denied by both Wizz Air and Rome Fiumicino Airport, who said some passengers requested medical checkups but reported no injuries. *On 29 September 2013 at 20:10, an Alitalia

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...

flying from Madrid Barajas Airport to

Rome Fiumicino Airport , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

failed to deploy the

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

during a storm on landing and the aircraft toppled, skidded off the runway, and crashed. Ten passengers suffered minor injuries, and all 151 passengers and crew were evacuated and taken to hospital.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonardo Da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport Airports in Rome Fiumicino Buildings and structures in Lazio Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital Airports established in 1961 1961 establishments in Italy