Rome Fiumicino joins the 50 million passengers per year club

Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) has welcomed a record 50 million passengers in a single year for the first time.

The record was achieved just before the Christmas period, and will be further boosted as operator Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), expects to welcome an additional two million travellers at FCO between December 22 and January 7.

This is the first time that the ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ – which has been ranked among the world’s Top 10 most connected airports by the aviation analytics company Cirium – has handled such a high volume of arriving and departing passengers.

It expects to end the calendar year with over 51 million total passengers – a rise of 4% compared with the previous year.

ADR attributes the 2025 upturn to its expanding route network which now extends to 230 destinations.

Indeed, FCO welcomed 30 new routes and six new airlines this year, and as a result is now served by 100 airlines operating services to 80 countries.

On a strategic level, Lufthansa’s acquisition of a stake in ITA Airways is said to have marked a significant development, further strengthening Leonardo da Vinci’s role as the main hub for Southern Europe.

According to ADR, Rome Fiumicino Airport is increasingly proving itself as a key infrastructure for Italy’s global connectivity and a strategic asset for the country’s long-term economic competitiveness.

This positioning, it claims, aligns with ADR’s vision outlined in the Sustainable Development Plan presented to the authorities, which includes over €9 billion in fully self-financed investments aimed at increasing air connectivity, ensuring the global competitiveness of the Italian airport system, and generating tangible, lasting economic and employment benefits for the local area and the country as a whole.

“Reaching 50 million passengers is the result of a long-term industrial vision, strategic operational planning, consistent investment, and the hard work of a great team of people who contribute daily to reinforcing Rome Fiumicino’s standing as a world-class hub,” enthused Marco Troncone, CEO of Aeroporti di Roma.

“These figures confirm the vital role this five-star airport plays for Italy: a central infrastructure supporting global connectivity, tourism appeal, and national economic competitiveness.

“This milestone is a further driver in the implementation of our Sustainable Development Plan, a strategic project designed to ensure capacity, resilience, and sustainability for decades to come, aligned with the environmental and industrial challenges facing the aviation sector.”

To celebrate this historic milestone, Aeroporti di Roma launched a campaign displayed on the screens at Rome Fiumicino Airport and published a video reel on its social media channels, serving as a symbolic tribute to all the passengers who chose and passed through the airport during 2025.