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Fiumicino International Airport
It took 12 years, but in the end, the Italy Ministry of the Environment rejected the project to expand Fiumicino International Airport, also known as Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. The decision was presented by the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) and Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), because it was considered incompatible with the nature reserve on which it should arise.
ADR has made it known that for some time “a sustainable development project is being studied with ENAC with the aim of combining the need to increase the capacity of air traffic on the Leonardo da Vinci with the profound respect for the environment.”
The ministry’s refusal meanwhile is greeted with enthusiasm by the FuoriPista (Side Runways) Committee and by several regional and Fiumicino councilors, as well as by the Mayor, Esternino Montino.
Minister Sergio Costa said: “We have stopped the expansion of Fiumicino Airport. It would have been the umpteenth concrete speculation in an already tormented territory. For me, this is a victory.”
The first cartographies with the Aeroporti di Roma project of a real second airport extends over 1,300 hectares north of the current one and would double up to 12 years ago. However, the 2030 Masterplan of Fiumicino Airport was presented by ENAC and ADR for Rome airport on March 31, 2017 to obtain the Environmental Impact Assessment (VIA) from the ministry which has arrived now.
“The idea of the expansion of Fiumicino Airport was going to impact a part of the Reserve of the Roman coast, as well as involving many expropriations for dozens of families, only to increase the airport grounds,” explained the Minister of the Environment, “with the negative opinion of the VIA-VAS commission, puts an end to a swing that has been going on for too long for Fiumicino.
“There has been a continuous contact with the citizens to reach this point, a synergistic work that has led to this result” As Mayor Montino pointed out, “The Commission nevertheless leaves open the possibility of the construction of a fourth runway recognizing the need for a development of the Fiumicino hub. This development, however, cannot be incompatible with the ecosystem ‘and’ to the detriment of the Roman Coastal Nature Reserve.”
