AdR’s path to Net Zero & network recovery
Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), the company that manages both airports in Rome, Fiumicino and Ciampino, has introduced several initiatives in terms of sustainability, energy saving, separate waste collection and recycling, in an effort to become an airport with a low environmental impact.
“Fiumicino and Ciampino airports have obtained the highest certification from ACI Europe Airport Carbon Accreditation 4+ “Transition” on the reduction of direct and indirect CO2 emissions at airports – becoming the first in Europe to do so,” explains Federico Scriboni, Head of Aviation Business Development, at AdR. “Fiumicino has been carbon neutral since 2013. Our next goal is to completely cut our emissions to zero and produce Net Zero Emissions by 2030 – 20 years earlier than the deadline which was set at the European airport sector level [Net Zero 2050],” continues Scriboni.
AdR will also contribute to the reduction of overall emissions by making available to carriers Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) by 2024, capable of reducing emissions by 60-80%. In addition, the airport compnay will promote electric mobility and soon it will build two large photovoltaic plants at the airport for a total power capacity of 60 megawatts.
Energy company Eni and AdR have signed a strategic agreement to promote decarbonization initiatives in the aviation sector and accelerate the ecological transition of airports. “This agreement, which allowed SAFs to be distributed in record time at Fiumicino with a view to further dissemination in the short term, provides for the definition of a joint programme for the development of sustainable mobility services and distribution to end customers, as well as for the decarbonisation of land vehicles and energy integration projects, in line with the most advanced transition and digitalisation models,” says Scriboni.
As a result of these initiatives, Fiumicino became the only airport in the world to be awarded by the UNWTO on sustainability. It was also the first to join the EP-100 of “The Climate Group”, the global initiative of The Climate Group on the smarter use of energy, with the commitment to increase its energy productivity by 150% by 2026, as well as the first to launch a sustainability-linked bond, which directly links the cost of debt to the sustainability results achieved.
Rome’s air traffic recovery
In the last few months, AdR has delivered a strong recovery of short- and medium-haul traffic which is continuing over W21-22. Indeed, the winter season started with more than 40 new routes, led primarily by Wizz Air, thanks to its new base in Fiumicino that was launched in July, including 29 city pairs including eight new destinations. In addition, Ryanair commenced eight new sectors. On top of that Vueling, Transavia France and Eurowings added new links to Toulouse, Paris Orly and Prague respectively, in addition to Oslo started by Flyr, a new entrant carrier in Rome. Last but not least, Volotea, another new entrant at Fiumicino, started connecting PSO routes to Sardinia from mid-October.
When considering long-haul traffic, AdR has started its capacity recovery path for the winter season welcoming the reinstatement of the direct flights to Jeddah and Riyadh by Saudia and to Kuwait City by Kuwait Airways. At the same time, Qatar Airways will operate up 14 weekly frequencies to Doha and Emirates up to nine weekly frequencies to Dubai starting from December.
From October 21, Singapore Airlines expanded its quarantine-free Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) adding Fiumicino to its network. The VTL arrangement allows eligible fully vaccinated customers departing from Rome to enter Singapore for any purpose, including leisure travel, without quarantine restrictions.