Federico Scriboni, Aeroporti di Roma's director of aviation business development.
FRANKFURT—Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) is targeting new routes to more than 10 destinations across Asia, Africa and South America as it seeks to build on record long-haul traffic and strengthen its hub position in Southern Europe.
Federico Scriboni, Aeroporti di Roma's director of aviation business development, highlighted Manila, Osaka, Jakarta and Colombo as key examples of priority markets in Asia. In South America, Lima, Caracas, Santiago and Bogota are among the airport’s main targets, alongside Johannesburg and Lagos in Africa.
“Our route development focus is not only on underserved intercontinental markets where we see strong existing demand and additional long-term potential, but also on strengthened European connectivity,” Scriboni told Routes.
“Our objective is not simply to promote destinations, but to demonstrate the commercial sustainability of the route under discussion and create the best possible conditions for long-term success,” he said.
The targets follow a period of network expansion. FCO welcomed more than 40 new routes and 15 new destinations this year, according to Scriboni, with the airport expecting long-haul passenger numbers to reach 11 million in 2026.
OAG data shows airlines offered approximately 20.36 million departure seats from the airport during summer 2026, up 3.8% from 19.62 million a year earlier. The number of destinations increased to 251 from 242.
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Long-haul additions include Alaska Airlines’ entry into Europe with flights from Seattle and ITA Airways’ launch of service to Houston, creating the first nonstop connection between Italy and the Texas city. Seattle capacity also includes Delta Air Lines, with the two carriers providing about 80,300 departure seats from Rome during the season.
North America remains Fiumicino’s largest long-haul region, with flights to 22 destinations and as many as 41 daily departures during the summer peak. ITA is also scheduled to add Santo Domingo during the winter season, while flights to Caracas are planned for summer 2027.
Elsewhere, capacity to Hong Kong almost doubled during summer 2026 to approximately 34,400 departure seats, while Delhi increased 39.5% to about 81,000 following Air India’s entry alongside ITA.
Singapore capacity rose 6.2% to 34,900 seats, while Ethiopian Airlines increased Addis Ababa capacity 11.4% to 108,600. Qantas’ seasonal Rome-Perth operation expanded to approximately 37,300 seats, more than three times the level provided during summer 2025.
The long-haul strategy is being supported by expansion in FCO’s European point-to-point network. Wizz Air operated 16 based aircraft during summer 2026 and plans to add a 17th for winter, while EasyJet has introduced routes including Birmingham, Belfast, Glasgow and Newcastle.
According to OAG data, ITA Airways remained FCO’s largest carrier in summer 2026, with approximately 4.62 million departure seats, followed by Wizz Air with 2.86 million seats, and Ryanair, with around 2.51 million.
Scriboni said European connectivity is important both for local demand and for feeding long-haul services. He also highlighted FCO’s evolving role within Lufthansa Group’s network following its investment in ITA Airways, pointing to the airport’s geographical position that could support further development.
To accommodate increased traffic, Aeroporti di Roma has prepared a €9 billion ($10.5 billion) development plan that includes a new passenger terminal, a fourth runway and other projects intended to increase FCO’s annual capacity to about 100 million passengers by 2046. The program will be financed by the airport operator without public funding.
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