Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport
Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport
Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (Italian: Aeroporto internazionale di Roma-Fiumicino "Leonardo da Vinci") (IATA: FCO, ICAO: LIRF) is an international airport in Fiumicino, Italy, serving Rome, its metropolitan area, Vatican City and the wider Lazio region. It is the busiest airport in the country, the eighth-busiest airport in Europe and the world's 39th-busiest airport with over 51 million passengers served in 2025. It covers an area of 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi). Fiumicino serves as the main hub for ITA Airways, the Italian flag carrier and the largest airline in the country, and Poste Air Cargo. It was previously the hub for Alitalia, the defunct airline that was Italy's largest and main flag carrier. It is also an operating base for several other airlines, such as Aeroitalia, easyJet, Neos, Ryanair, Vueling and Wizz Air. The airport is managed by Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), part of the Italian transport holding company Mundys. Opened in 1961, it is in Fiumicino, 30 km (19 mi) south of Rome, and is named for Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519). Reproductions of his most famous works and inventions are displayed at the airport.
Location
41.805°N, 12.252°E · 4 m s. n. m. (13 ft)
General data
Runways · 3
Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.
Radio frequencies · 5
Tower
Ground
Clearance delivery
ATIS (automatic information)
Approach
Reference frequencies for enthusiasts, from OurAirports (community database, public domain), checked on Oct 16, 2026. They may be outdated or incomplete and do not replace the AIP or current charts: not for navigation. In Europe the published frequency may be an 8.33 kHz channel (e.g., 118.505 for 118.500). In MHz.
History
Early years
During construction, the remains of some Roman ships were found.
The airport was officially opened on 15 January 1961, with two runways, replacing the smaller Rome Ciampino Airport, which remains in service for some low-cost airlines as well as domestic and charter operations. Despite being officially opened in 1961, Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport had actually been in use since 20 August 1960. This was to help relieve air traffic that was congesting Rome Ciampino Airport during the 1960 Summer Olympics.
During the 1960s, former home-based Alitalia invested heavily in the new airport, building hangars and maintenance centres; in the same period a third runway was added (16L/34R).
Terrorist attacks
Rome-Fiumicino airport has been hit twice by terrorist attacks. The first attack was in 1973 (34 deaths) following the expulsion of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from Jordan and the Jordanian–Palestinian civil war. The second attack occurred in 1985 (19 deaths +4 terrorists in the departure area of Terminal B, now Terminal 3) part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, presumably linked to Abu Nidal Organization.
Later development
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 per hour, up from 10, in the event of thick fog. Three runways presently operate at Leonardo da Vinci airport: 16L/34R and 16R/34L (separated by a distance of 4,000 m (13,000 ft)), and 07/25, used only westwards for takeoffs owing to the prevailing winds. The airport used to have a fourth runway, 16C/34C which was located alongside 16L/34R, it was mostly used as a taxiway or as a backup for 16L/34R; the runway is now designated as Taxiway "D".
In 2010, the new single baggage handling system for more efficient luggage delivery began operations.
Airlines operating here · 97
Airlines using it as a main base (hub)
Other airlines with direct routes
Airlines with current passenger routes from here, according to Wikipedia route tables cross-checked from both ends (October 2026).
Photo: © Ra Boe / Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · view original
Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Cite
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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO). Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/FCO
MLA
“Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/FCO. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/FCO.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/FCO (Accessed: 16 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_fco,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO)}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-15},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/FCO},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/FCO}},
urldate = {2026-10-16},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/FCO |title=Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}