Italy: Rome’s Fiumicino airport opens major new boarding area

Rome: Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci international airport, known as Fiumicino, inaugurated a major new boarding area on Wednesday in the presence of Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella.

Airport management company Aeroporti di Roma (AdR) has invested €400 million in building “Molo A”, a three-storey structure that covers 37,000 sqm and is linked to Terminal 1.

Mattarella hailed the opening of the “important infrastructure” – which has 23 gates – as a “sign of recovery and confidence in the future.”

Also present at the inauguration was Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri who said the “precious” asset will be particularly useful during Jubilee Year 2025, “which will attract millions of faithful” to the capital.

Construction of the new boarding area began at the end of 2017 but was stalled by the covid lockdown in March 2020.

The development, described by AdR as “the first major infrastructure opened in Italy after the pandemic”, will increase the annual number of passengers transiting through the airport by more than six million.

Illuminated by natural light, the structure has dozens of shops, a nursery and children’s play area, as well as VIP business areas, with 13 of the 23 gates equipped with loading bridges to board planes directly.

Passengers can even admire a collection of ancient Roman artefacts, curated by the archaeological park at Ostia Antica, including frescoes and a statue of Apollo.

The boarding area boasts eco-sustainable credentials, equipped with solar panel systems and adhering to all the main international environmental norms.