Rome Airport wants to be the first in Europe to offer air taxis

Aircraft of the new ITA Airways on the runway

In the event of a potential partnership, Rome-Fiumicino Airport could become the Mediterranean hub for the Lufthansa Group.

(Photo: imago images/ZUMA Wire)

Rome Corona continues to slow down the number of flights in the third year of the pandemic: At Easter, Italy’s largest airport Rome-Fiumicino recorded a volume of 65 percent compared to normal times. “But we are seeing a strong recovery on short and medium-haul routes,” said Airport boss Marco Troncone in an interview with the Handelsblatt. With European flights you are already at almost 90 percent.

Despite the pandemic and the Ukraine war, people wanted to travel again. According to Troncone, what is missing are the long-haul routes, especially the Asian market. Before the pandemic, the proportion of travelers to Asia was ten percent. “A number that grew very quickly and was also very important outside of aviation,” explains Troncone, who has been managing the airport operator Aeroporti di Roma for a good two years.

In Rome, the shopping plaza full of luxury brands, which was inaugurated in 2017, was particularly popular with Chinese and Russians. But Troncone is optimistic: For this summer, airline bookings are already at a level of 80 percent of the pre-Corona period. “We could see full recovery in the summer of 2023.”

Troncone is hoping for an additional boost from the state Alitalia successor ITA Airways, which has been in operation since autumn 2021 – and has aroused the interest of airlines such as Lufthansa and Air France.

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Troncone relies on the German aviation group as a buyer: “Of course we have nothing against Air France,” says the airport boss. “You are an important, respected partner for us.” But the airline has a very centralized model via Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

“Lufthansa, on the other hand, has specialized in a hub model and in national airlines that retain their own identity,” says Troncone. A Mediterranean hub is still missing in the portfolio: Fiumicino could become a distribution point to Southeast Asia, South America and North America. “The choice of Lufthansa seems to me to be very convincing for Italy, because it has proven with airlines like Swiss and Brussels that the concept works.”

New gate opened for another six million passengers

Troncone underpinned its own growth ambitions this Wednesday: A new terminal area with 23 gates was officially opened, and even President Sergio Mattarella was there. Before the pandemic, Fiumicino handled almost 50 million passengers a year, now there is a capacity of another six million passengers.

Marco Troncone

The airport boss hopes that flight traffic will normalize in the summer of 2023.

(Photo: imago images/Emmefoto)

The gate cost 400 million euros, and three new lounges were built. There is also the first airport food court here for the Italian supermarket and restaurant concept “Eataly”, which already has branches in New York and Munich.

“Vertiports” are to be added soon: the ground infrastructure for air taxis. Rome wants to be the first airport in Europe to offer the service – and is working together with the German start-up Volocopter. Troncone anticipates that all necessary regulations will be in place by 2024.

The first route is already planned: the air taxis should take 15 minutes from Rome’s airport to the main train station. Tests are scheduled to take place this fall. The Italian infrastructure holding company Atlantia, which is majority-owned by the Benetton family, has also invested in Volocopter. Atlantia, in turn, has owned Aeroporti di Roma since 2013.

More: Digital traffic technology and more money for Volocopter: Benetton Holding has ambitious growth targets

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