By Vincenzo Claudio Piscopo
Rome Fiumicino airport wins best airport award at ACI Europe Best Airport Awards 2022
Rome-Fiumicino International Airport located about 30 km west of the city center of Rome, the Italian capital, has been awarded the ACI Europe Best Airport Awards 2022, the fourth time in the past five years.
The “Airport Council International” (ACI) is a nonprofit association of civil airport operators formed in 1991 with headquarters in Montréal, Canada, and today represents 575 members operating in 179 countries. The association’s main objective is to represent its members at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and discuss global standards for civil air transportation. This association also independently surveys passenger satisfaction at the world’s major airports with a panel consisting of representatives from the European Commission, EUROCONTROL, SESAR Joint Undertaking, International Transport Forum and European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC). The evaluation was based on how airports have responded to the crisis, the innovation implemented, and sustainability and decarbonization goals.
Fiumicino airport stood out for implementing the Innovation hub dedicated to start-ups and developing Urban Air Mobility services with the launch of the first electric vertical take-off aircraft connections between the airport and Rome in 2024. Particularly appreciated was the commitment to achieving the goal of becoming Net Zero Emission in 2030, twenty years ahead of what has been set at the European airport sector level, in intermodality with the development of integrated train+airplane products, and in the diffusion of SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), a biofuel capable of reducing CO2 emissions by 60-90%.
Qantas began services from Sydney to Rome in 1948 as part of the seven-stop Kangaroo Route to London, and from the early 1990s, it flew the Boeing 747 twice a week until 2003, when direct services were suspended during the SARS pandemic.
After another pandemic, almost 20 years later, Qantas’ new non-stop flight from Perth to Rome landed today, operated by a Boeing 787/900 Dreamliner, with three weekly connections. The flight is the only direct flight between mainland Europe and Australia. According to Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce, there is substantial demand for international travel as more and more countries loosen restrictions. Qantas will operate these three weekly flights from Rome to Sydney (via Perth) from now until October 6.
To celebrate the launch of the new route to Rome Fiumicino, Qantas has introduced an array of Italian-inspired menus in its lounges and on board. In addition, it has added a remarkable collection of iconic Italian films to its in-flight entertainment offerings on all international flights to give travelers the first taste of Italian-ness already during their journey.
Vincenzo graduated in 2019 in Mechanical Engineering with an aeronautical curriculum, focusing his thesis on Human Factors in aircraft maintenance. Currently, he is pursuing his master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Palermo, Italy. He combines his journalistic activities with his work as a Safety and Reliability Engineer at DMD Solutions.