Rome Ciampino Giovan Battista Pastine Airport

Opened in 1916, Rome Ciampino Giovan Battista Pastine Airport is one of the oldest operational airports in the world. On April 10, 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 June 1944, during World War II, Allied Forces captured the airport and it then became a United States Army Air Forces military airfield. Although mainly used as a transport base, the Twelfth Air Force 86th Bombardment Group flew A-36 Apache combat aircraft from the airport soon after its capture from German forces. When the combat units left the area, Air Transport Command used the airport as a major trans-shipment hub for cargo. LIRA was the primary airport in Rome up until 1960. When Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport opened, Ciampino handled almost exclusively charter and executive flights for more than 30 years. However, the terminal facilities were extended at the beginning of 2007 to accommodate the growing number of low-cost carrier operations.

 

LIRA is located 7.5 miles south-southeast of central Rome, just outside the Greater Ring Road (the circular motorway surrounding the city). 

● LIRA hosts a fleet of Bombardier 415 aerial firefighting aircraft. It is also used by express logistics companies like DHL, by official flights of the Italian government, and by planes of dignitaries visiting Rome. 

● Other than via private automobile, there are only two ways of travelling between Ciampino and Fiumicino Airports. One is to take a taxi and the other is to travel to Rome's Termini station and then travel out to the required airport. 

● The airport features a single, one-story passenger terminal building with all of its departures and arrivals facilities. The departures area consists of a main hall with stores and service facilities, as well as 31 check-in counters and 16 departure gates using walkways or bus boarding, as there are no jet bridges.