The eternal charm of Rome

Posted on October 13, 2022 | Air Service Community News

From left to right, Federico Scriboni, Head of Aviation Business Development of Aeroporti di Roma, Richard Goyder, Chairman Qantas Group, Alan Joyce, CEO Qantas Group, Mark McGowan, Premier of Western Australia, Phillipa Harrison, Tourism Australia Managing Director, Margaret Twomey, Australia’s Ambassador to Italy, Maria Elena Rossi ENIT, Italian Tourism Agency Marketing Director, cut the ribbon for the new Rome-Perth route.

Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO) has been reflecting on an outstanding summer, which saw it launch more than 40 new routes with six new carriers.

The hub has capitalised on the post-Covid travel boom with notable progress in the long-haul sector.

Since June, FCO has been the only airport in continental Europe with a direct flight to Australia, thanks to Qantas’ new Rome-Perth route.

Another excellent result was the opening of the Rome-Calgary route, launched by WestJet in May. It’s currently the only direct service between Italy and central/western Canada.

In other positive news, Gulf Air launched a direct service to Bahrain, three US carriers increased transatlantic capacity (up 16% compared 2019) and ITA Airways increased intercontinental connectivity, adding Los Angeles, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires to New York, Miami and Boston.

All told, the airport has achieved an almost full resumption of its long-haul network. In total, 25 direct flights have been reactivated since Covid, including Singapore with Singapore Airlines, Seoul with Asiana and Korean Air, Buenos Aires with Aerolíneas Argentinas and Sao Paulo with Latam.

In the short and medium-haul sector, Wizz Air is playing an increasingly relevant role with an additional aircraft based at the airport (the airline’s fifth). The low-cost carrier has launched 21 new routes this year, including Yerevan (Armenia), Turku (Finland), Dortmund (Germany) and Dammam (Saudi Arabia).

Wizz Air’s competitors have also linked Rome with new destinations. They include Tangier, Girona and Figari with Ryanair; Strasbourg and Lille with Volotea; Montpellier with Transavia; Ajaccio with Air Corsica; and Reykjavík with Icelandair.

The winter season looks set to see a further recovery of the long-haul network, with the resumption of direct flights to Tokyo Haneda from November and Delhi from December, operated by ITA Airways.

Meanwhile, Wizz Air is due to base a sixth aircraft at FCO, with new links to Riyadh, Barcelona and Porto.

The airport’s aviation business development team is looking forward to meeting airlines and partners at the next Routes World to share new perspectives and create successful collaborations.