Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport

Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport (Italian: Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci di Fiumicino) (IATA: FCO, ICAO: LIRF), also commonly known as Fiumicino Airport, is Italy's largest airport and second-largest international air gateway, with 35,226,351 passengers served in 2008, located in Fiumicino, 35 km from Rome's historic city centre. It was the world's 25th busiest airport by passenger traffic in 2008, and the sole hub for Alitalia. The airport is named after the Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci, who first designed a proto helicopter and a flying machine with wings.

History:

The airport officially opened on January 15, 1961 with two runways, replacing the small Rome Ciampino Airport which remains in service for domestic and charter operations. During the decade Alitalia invested heavily on the new airport, building hangars and maintenance centers; in the same period a third runway was added (16L/34R). Four runways presently operate at Leonardo da Vinci airport: 16L/34R and 16R/34L (separated by a distance of 4,000 metres), 16C/34C (close to 16L/34R), mostly used as a taxiway or as a backup of 16L/34R, and 07/25, used only westwards for takeoffs due to dominant winds. Since 2005 the airport operates a category III B instrument landing system (ILS). Further improvement work was implemented in 2007 to enable the airport to handle 30 takeoffs/landings, up from 10, in the event of thick fog. The terminal area were upgraded during the 1990s: 1991: Opening of the domestic pier with 12 loading bridges (Pier A); 1995: Opening of the international pier with 10 loading bridges (Pier B); 1999: Opening of the west satellite with 11 loading bridges (satellite C) and sky-bridge train connecting it with the main terminal; 2000: Opening of the new domestic terminal (terminal A). Reorganization of terminal buildings, now comprising of: terminal A (and pier A), terminal AA, terminal B (and pier B), terminal C (and west satellite); 2004: Opening of new cargo terminal called Cargo City; 2008: Opening of terminal 5 (950,000 passengers per year). Extended work to build new pier C. The next commitments will be the following: completion of environment-friendly cogeneration system allowing the airport to self-produce energy (end 2008); finalization of a second Baggage Handling System (BHS) by 2009; the new pier C (dedicated to international flights) with 16 additional loading bridges, to be completed by 2010 to enable handling the expected growth from present-day 38 million passengers per year to 55 million by 2018.