The international airport of Rome

Fiumicino has been awarded for the fifth time in six years the Aci Europe Best Airport Award 2023

EN In a festive atmosphere the recognition of the Best Airport Awards 2023 by the “Airport Council International” (ACI), an international trade association of the main airports in the world, and celebrated at Leonardo da Vinci on June 28th, was awarded for the fifth time to the Roman airport as the best airport in Europe. The announcement was made by the Chief Executive Officer of Aeroporti di Roma, Marco Troncone, in the presence of over 500 passengers and staff of Aeroporti di Roma who, inside the specially set up boarding area E, created a silent disco: a choreographed DJ set with headphones for an afternoon of entertainment and open to all those present.

ACI dedicated the Aci Europe Best Airport Award 2023 to Fiumicino airport in the category of hubs with over 40 million passengers. This award is added to the recognition of “Leonardo da Vinci” which for six consecutive years leads the European ranking on the quality of service expressed directly by passengers and the 5-star Skytrax assigned to the Roman airport in January this year, for the operational excellence and the quality of service provided to passengers.

The evaluation criteria of the Best Airport 2023 focused on operational resilience and sustainability in the context of the recovery from the COVID-19. Leonardo da Vinci’s victory was made possible by the excellent results obtained by Aeroporti di Roma on some main drivers such as sustainability and innovation. In this context, we should mention ADR’s commitment to progressively reduce the environmental footprint of its airports with the target of Net Zero Emissions in 2030, twenty years ahead of what was set at the European airport sector level, in addition to the company’s objective in defining a path that makes the development of air transport compatible with the protection of the environment through the Pact for the decarbonisation of air transport, an observatory promoted by ADR which aims to accelerate the achievement of the sector’s sustainability objectives in the context of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, and in which brings together industrial players, institutional stakeholders and associations, led by experts from the academic world. But also for its intermodality, with the development of integrated train+air products, the spread of SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) which is the biofuel capable of reducing CO2 emissions by 60-80%, the production of renewable energy with the creation of the largest self-consumption photovoltaic system in a European airport, which will be located parallel to runway number 3 of Leonardo da Vinci.

On the innovation front, the great protagonist of Aeroporti di Roma’s strategy, with particular appreciation went to the orientation towards open innovation and digitization, in order to offer passengers ever more comfort and safety during their journey. In this context, the creation of the Innovation Hub dedicated to start-ups stands out in the airport, the launch of the second call4ideas, the establishment of the Corporate Venture Capital company “ADR Ventures” and the development of urban air mobility services with the launch of first connections of electric vertical take-off aircraft between the airport and Rome as early as 2024.

“Being reconfirmed as the best European airport for the fifth time is an extraordinary result”, declared the CEO of Aeroporti di Roma, Marco Troncone, “the result of daily commitment and immense passion by all our people and our partners, including institutional ones, to whom a special thanks goes. It is the confirmation of the commitment that we have made as a company towards our passengers and all our stakeholders: to create a sustainable airport of the future, to continue to ensure even greater safety, comfort and value-added services. Aeroporti di Roma continues to look firmly to the future, making use of technology and innovation and at the same time enhancing the history and beauty that belong to the city of Rome and to Italy, so that Leonardo da Vinci becomes more and more the mirror of the excellence of that of our country”.

The Largest Photovoltaic System In Europe Will Be Created

Thanks to a recent agreement between Enel X and Aeroporti di Roma, the largest European self-consumption photovoltaic plant for an airport will be built at the Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport

Enel X, following the award of a European public tender launched by Aeroporti di Roma, confirms its commitment to offering partnered solutions and technologies that perfectly integrate innovation and production of energy from renewable sources, accelerating Aeroporti di Roma’s path to sustainability. The Enel company which is dedicated to the development of innovative energy efficiency solutions and services, will in fact build for Aeroporti di Roma, in collaboration with Circet SpA, a leading company in the development of infrastructures, the largest self-consumption photovoltaic plant in a European airport. The plant, located parallel to runway number 3 of Leonardo da Vinci, will cover an area of 340,000 m2 with a power of 22 MW, producing around 32 GWh of renewable energy per year when fully operational. Once operational, the plant will avoid the emission of over 11,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, equivalent to the planting of around 100,000 trees.

“The construction of the new photovoltaic plant, the largest in Europe, is a significant step in the now consolidated collaboration with Aeroporti di Roma”, declared Francesco Venturini, Head of Enel X. “We are facing an intervention in the airport area that has never been seen before, thanks to our leadership in the creation of advanced technologies in the energy sector. It will largely contribute to reducing emissions from Fiumicino Airport, making it even more of global excellence”.

“We continue forward with one of the most ambitious initiatives of our sustainable development path”, commented Marco Troncone, Chief Executive Officer of ADR, “because this project, with the collaboration of Enel X, will allow the generation of over 32 GWh per year of renewable energy thanks to the largest self-consumption photovoltaic system for a European airport. We are convinced that Italian excellence can and must work together for the transformation and relaunch of a strategic sector for our country and to contribute to the mitigation of climate change”.

Aeroporti di Roma, the first Italian airport hub and one of the best hubs in the world, as evidenced by the 5-star Skytrax, has chosen to focus on digitalisation, safety, innovation and environmental sustainability and has been embarking on a path aimed at zeroing emissions for some years of CO2 in 2030, ahead of the targets set by the European airport sector, confirming its determination on the sustainability front and in particular in the fight against climate change. The innovative photovoltaic system will consist of approximately 55,000 latest-generation photovoltaic panels in addition to housing structures, cabins and cable ducts, and was designed considering the most advanced technologies in the sector for perfect adaptation of the installation requirements for structures of this type. The works will begin by the end of 2023 and will be completed in 2024. The new solar plant will be integrated with an accumulation system based on electric vehicle batteries that have reached their second life cycle. The 10 MWh storage is the result of the Pioneer project (airPort sustaInability secONd lifE battEry stoRage), the first step in the collaboration between Enel X and ADR, and will help cover any evening peaks in energy demand at the airport. These are two interventions that show the continuity of the path started by Enel X and ADR and consolidate the position of the Enel company as a partner for Aeroporti di Roma in the field of energy efficiency.