Rome Ciampino Airport

G. B. Pastine Rome Ciampino Airport Aeroporto internazionale di Roma-Ciampino G. B. Pastine
IATA: CIA ICAO: LIRA
Summary
Airport type	Public/Military
Owner	Mundys
Operator	Aeroporti di Roma
Serves	Ciampino Rome Metropolitan City of Rome Capital Lazio region Vatican City
Location	Ciampino, Rome, Lazio, Italy
Operating base for	Ryanair Wizz Air
Elevation  AMSL	427 ft / 130 m
Coordinates	41°47′58″N012°35′50″E / 41.79944°N 12.59722°E / 41.79944; 12.59722
Website	www.adr.it/ciampino
Map
CIA/LIRA Location of airport in Italy Show map of Rome CIA/LIRA CIA/LIRA (Lazio) Show map of Lazio CIA/LIRA CIA/LIRA (Italy) Show map of Italy
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 15/33 2,208 7,244 Bitumen
Statistics (2024)
Passengers 3,861,806 Passenger change 23-24 -0.6% Movements 42,429 Movements change 23-24 -0.7% Cargo (tons) 14,536 Cargo change 23-24 4.5%
Source: Italian AIP at EUROCONTROL [1] Statistics from Assaeroporti [2]

G. B. Pastine Rome Ciampino Airport( IATA : CIA, ICAO : LIRA) (Italian : Aeroporto internazionale di Roma-Ciampino "G. B. Pastine") is Rome's secondary international airport serving Ciampino, Rome, its metropolitan city, the Lazio region and the Vatican City. It's Rome's second international airport after Leonardo da Vinci–Rome Fiumicino Airport. It is a joint civilian, commercial and military airport situated 6.5  NM (12.0 km; 7.5 mi) south southeast ^[1] of central Rome, just outside the Greater Ring Road (Italian: Grande Raccordo Anulare or GRA) the circular motorway around the city.

The airport is a base for two low-cost carriers and general aviation traffic. It also hosts a military airport and the headquarters of the 31º Stormo and the 2nd Reparto Genio of the Italian Air Force. The airport is named after Giovan Battista Pastine, an Italian airship pilot who served in World War I.

History

Ciampino Airport was opened in 1916 ^[3] and is one of the oldest airports still in operation.

From here, on 10 April 1926, Umberto Nobile took off on the airship Norge, the first aircraft to reach the North Pole and the first to fly across the polar ice cap from Europe to America. In October 1930, the first helicopter prototype designed by Corradino D'Ascanio was tested at Ciampino Airport, reaching a record altitude of 18 m (59 ft), flight time of 8 minutes 45 seconds and 1,078 m (3,537 ft) distance flown.

During World War II, the airport was captured by Allied forces in June 1944, and afterward became a United States Army Air Forces military airfield. Although primarily used as a transport base by C-47 Skytrain aircraft of the 64th Troop Carrier Group, the Twelfth Air Force 86th Bombardment Group flew A-36 Apache combat aircraft from the airport during the immediate period after its capture from German forces.

When the combat units moved out, Air Transport Command used the airport as a major transshipment hub for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel for the remainder of the war. ^[4]

It was Rome's main airport until 1960, with traffic amounting to over 2 million passengers per year. After the opening of Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Ciampino handled almost exclusively charter and executive flights for more than three decades. However, the terminal facilities were extended at the beginning of 2007 to accommodate the growing number of low-cost carrier operations.

Facilities

Passenger terminal

The airport features a single, one-story passenger terminal building containing the departures and arrivals facilities. The departures area consists of a main hall with some stores and service facilities as well as 31 check-in counters and 16 departure gates using walk or bus boarding as there are no jet-bridges. The arrivals area has a separate entrance and features four baggage belts as well as some more service counters. ^[5]

Other usage

The airport hosts a fleet of Bombardier 415 aerial firefighting aircraft. ^[6] It is also used by express logistics companies such as DHL, by official flights of the Italian Government and by planes of dignitaries visiting the Italian capital. There is also an additional smaller general aviation terminal, although private flights have now mainly been transferred to Rome Urbe Airport.

Airlines and destinations

The following passenger airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Ciampino Airport: ^[7]

Airlines	Destinations
Ryanair	Bratislava, [8] Bucharest–Otopeni, [8] Budapest, [8] Cagliari, [8] Charleroi, [8] Cork, [9] Edinburgh, [10] Fez, [8] Gdansk, [11] Kraków, [8] London–Stansted, [12] Manchester, [8] Marrakesh, [13] Poznan, [8] Prague, [14] Rabat, [15] Shannon (begins 31 March 2026), [16] Sofia, [8] Tirana, [17] Vilnius, [18] Warsaw–Modlin [8] Seasonal: Amman–Queen Alia, [19] Birmingham, [20] Corfu, [21] East Midlands, [22] Liverpool, [15] Paphos, [8] Rhodes [8]
Wizz Air	Belgrade, [23] Craiova, Iași, Kutaisi, [24] [25] Skopje, [26] Timișoara [27] Seasonal: Olbia [28]

Statistics

After decades of stagnation in scheduled traffic, low-cost carriers have boosted Ciampino from the year 2002 onwards.

Number of passengers in millions ^{[29] [30]}

Norge airship taking off from Ciampino Airport

First helicopter flight in Ciampino

Apron view

Departure gate area

Accidents and incidents

• Defects in the design of the de Havilland Comet jet airliner were discovered as the result of inflight breakups on two Comets that departed from Ciampino:
  • On 10 January 1954, BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland Comet, broke up in mid air and crashed into the Mediterranean twenty minutes after takeoff from Ciampino Airport, en route to London Heathrow Airport.^{[ citation needed ]}
  • On 8 April 1954, two weeks after Comets were allowed to resume flying following a temporary grounding resulting from the previous crash, South African Airways Flight 201, another Comet, broke up shortly after takeoff and crashed not far from Ponza.^{[ citation needed ]}
• On 21 December 1959, Vickers Viscount I-LIZT of Alitalia crashed short of the runway on a training flight exercise in landing with two engines inoperative. Both people on board were killed. ^[31]
• On 10 November 2008, Ryanair Flight 4102 from Hahn suffered damage during landing. The cause of the accident was stated to be birdstrikes affecting both engines. The port undercarriage of the Boeing 737-8AS collapsed. ^[32] The aircraft involved was Boeing 737-8AS EI-DYG, delivered new to Ryanair from Boeing. There were 6 crew and 166 passengers on board. ^[33] The airport was closed for over 24 hours as a result of the accident. ^[34] Two crew and eight passengers were taken to hospital with minor injuries. ^[35] As well as damage to the engines and undercarriage, the rear fuselage was also damaged by contact with the runway. ^[36] The final report of the accident, investigated by ANSV (National Agency for the Safety of Flights) was released on 20 December 2018, more than 10 years after the accident. ^{[37] [38]}

References

1. "EAD Basic - Error Page". www.ead.eurocontrol.int. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
2. "Traffic Data 2024". 26 November 2024.
3. "History - Aeroporti di Roma".
4. Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN   0-89201-092-4.
5. "Airport map - Aeroporti di Roma". www.adr.it. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
6. "Italian flying firefighters". Aeromedia. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
7. adr.it – Destinations Archived 20 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 20 June 2015.
8. "Rome, Italy". OAG Flight Guide Worldwide. 25 (2). Luton, United Kingdom: OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited: 914–922. August 2023. ISSN   1466-8718.
9. "News for Airlines, Airports and the Aviation Industry | CAPA".
10. "Ryanair Moves Additional Routes to Ryanair UK in NS23". Aeroroutes.
11. "Ryanair NS24 Network Additions Summary – 14JUL24".
12. Liu, Jim (22 September 2022). "Ryanair NW22 London Stansted A320 Network Additions". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
13. "Ryanair Morocco NS24 Network Expansion".
14. "News for Airlines, Airports and the Aviation Industry | CAPA".
15. Liu, Jim (12 December 2022). "Ryanair NW22 Network Additions Summary – 09DEC22". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
16. McMahon, Páraic (11 November 2025). "Ryanair announce Shannon routes to Madrid, Poznań, Rome & Warsaw for summer schedule". Clare Echo. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
17. "Ryanair sbarca in Albania. Attacco frontale a Wizz Air". 8 June 2023.
18. "Ryanair NW24 Network Additions – 14JUL24".
19. Liu, Jim (6 March 2025). "Ryanair NS25 Network Additions – 02MAR25". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
20. "Ryanair to launch new route to Italy".
21. "Ryanair May – Oct 2023 Italy Frequency Variations – 14MAY23". Aeroroutes.
22. "Ryanair NS23 Network Additions Summary – 26MAR23". Aeroroutes.
23. "Belgrade, Serbia BEG". OAG Flight Guide Worldwide. 26 (11). Luton, United Kingdom: OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited: 128–129. May 2025. ISSN   1466-8718. OCLC   41608313.
24. "Kutaisi, Georgia KUT". OAG Flight Guide Worldwide. 26 (11). Luton, United Kingdom: OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited: 569–569. May 2025. ISSN   1466-8718. OCLC   41608313.
25. "Wizz Air NS24 Network Additions". AeroRoutes. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
26. "Skopje, Macedonia FYR SKP". OAG Flight Guide Worldwide. 26 (11). Luton, United Kingdom: OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited: 1072–1073. May 2025. ISSN   1466-8718. OCLC   41608313.
27. "Wizz Air NS24 Removed Routes Summary – 04FEB24".
28. "WIZZ – Sogna di più. Vivi di più. Scopri di più". 2004.
29. "wikidata query" . Retrieved 10 June 2024.
30. "Traffic data" . Retrieved 10 June 2025.
31. "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
32. "Bird-hit jet in emergency landing". BBC News Online. 10 November 2008. Archived from the original on 15 November 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
33. "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
34. "Airport Remains Closed Following Ryanair Flight's Emergency Landing". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
35. "Accident: Ryanair B738 at Rome on Nov 10th 2008, engine and landing gear trouble, temporarily departed runway". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
36. "PICTURES: Bird-struck Ryanair 737 extensively damaged". flightglobal.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
37. "Report EI-DYG" (PDF). ANSV. 20 December 2018.
38. Official italian accident report issued by ANSV and its english translation. Aviation Accidents Database . Retrieved 9 January 2019.

External links

Media related to Rome Ciampino Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Current weather for LIRA at NOAA / NWS
• Accident history for CIA at Aviation Safety Network