ROME AIRPORT IN THE LEAD

Rome's Airport Leonardo da Vinci has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan to cope with the predicted boom in air travel arrivals for Jubilee Year 2025 and EXPO 2030.

The new departure Terminal, which was opened in May 2022, is designed to handle 6 million passengers, in a 20,000 sqm area complete with shopping malls and restaurants and with 23 departure gates, 13 of which equipped with loading bridges for quick and easy boarding.

Particular attention has been paid to energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly materials.

The new Terminal has been constructed according to the internationally certified standards of Leed (Leadership Energy and Environmental Design). The high arched ceiling and huge window panels flood the area with natural light. High tech heating and air conditioning systems are programmed to function automatically according to the number of people in the Terminal, while energy is transmitted through solar panels mounted on large sections of the roof.

Italy's unique heritage has also been showcased with a number of ancient Roman statues of deities from the archaeological site of Ostia Antica on display.

Leonardo da Vinci has been rated “Best European Airport” four times in the past five years by the Airports Council International (ACI) in the category for hubs handling over 40 million passengers, the first time that an airport has won this award for four consecutive years.

Info: www.rome-airport.info