The €10 million terminal opened on 3 May. “The new Terminal 5 is one of the solutions devised by Aeroporti di Roma to meet the needs of our customers in the best possible way and to increase Fiumicino’s capacity, while also relieving a traffic-congested area,” said Franco Giudice, head of operations and infrastructure development.
US carriers (American Airlines, Continental, Delta, United and US Airways) operated 5,500 flights between Rome and the US in 2007 – up 17.9% year-on-year. The consistent growth trend resulted in Terminal C becoming overcrowded in peak periods. Around one million passengers per year will use the new Terminal 5, alleviating that congestion.
The €10 million project was funded entirely by Aeroporti di Roma and is part of a complex and structured investment plan to extend Fiumicino’s capacity and provide suitable air traffic flow management of current and future flights to and from Rome.
The new terminal is, in fact, a renovated building that was previously the ADR cargo terminal. The project was undertaken by Impresa CMB, with a construction time of only six months.
Franco Giudice, Head of Operations and Infrastructure Development, said: “We worked quickly and hard to improve access to the Rome hub and its standards of comfort, fully aware of the fact that we would be faced with a substantial increase in air traffic. In 2007, the traffic growth rate solely related to US carriers at Fiumicino airport registered a substantial increase in the number of inbound and outbound passengers, up by 20.3% against the previous year, providing further confirmation of the importance of exchanges between our country and North America.”
Rome Fiumicino’s new Terminal 5 is a renovated building that was previously the ADR cargo terminal.
Increasing traffic volumes
Terminal 5 is subdivided into three main areas: an area dedicated to profiling activities, a check-in area and a security/passport control area, which also includes the gates to the shuttle bus service that transports passengers the 800m to the West Satellite for boarding. The security check area provides a fast track service for frequent flyers and business class passengers. Terminal 5 is a short distance from Fiumicino’s other terminals; a shuttle service runs between the new facility and Terminal C.
The new terminal is equipped with an independent baggage handling system for outbound baggage, which extends over a surface area of 5,000sqm and is capable of handling up to 1,800 bags per hour. It will relieve the baggage handling system in the central terminal and reduce hold luggage holding times.
“The new Terminal 5 is one of the solutions devised by Aeroporti di Roma to meet the needs of our customers in the best possible way and to increase Fiumicino’s capacity, while also relieving a traffic-congested area,” said Giudice.
Meanwhile, construction of Pier C has begun. The pier is an extension to Terminal C, which will provide an additional boarding area for passengers on Schengen flights. The 78,000sqm pier will be able to handle five million passengers per year and is scheduled to open in 2011/2012. The infrastructure improvements are made necessary by increasing traffic volumes. Figures for Q1 2008 show that Fiumicino’s throughput increased 7.2% to seven million passengers, largely driven by growth in international traffic.
