# Rome Ciampino Airport
**Rome Ciampino Airport** (Aeroporto di Roma-Ciampino "Giovan Battista Pastine", IATA: CIA) is a joint civilian and military airport about 15 kilometers outside Rome, Italy, serving low-cost airline traffic, express-courier cargo, and general aviation including state, humanitarian, and civil-defense flights.[1](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/azn-history) • [2](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/pax-cia-travel-information) Opened in 1916 as an airship station, it was the capital's only airport until Leonardo da Vinci Airport at [Fiumicino](https://www.edgepedia.org/fiumicino) opened on 15 January 1961.[1](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/azn-history)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1916, on the Via Appia, as an airship station for military use until 1947[1](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/azn-history) |
| Name | Honors Giovan Battista Pastine, an airship pilot killed in 1916, awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valor in memoriam[3](https://www.comune.ciampino.roma.it/it/page/la-storia-di-ciampino-1) |
| Location | About 15 km outside Rome, reached by car, taxi, train, bus, or shuttle[2](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/pax-cia-travel-information) |
| Traffic role | Low-cost passenger traffic, express-courier goods, and general aviation (state, humanitarian, civil defense flights)[1](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/azn-history) |
| 2024 traffic | 3,861,806 passengers and 42,429 movements, down 34% and 19% respectively from 2019[4](https://www.adr.it/documents/d/aeroporti-di-roma-en/adr_rai2024_eng_web-pdf) |
| Night restriction | Closed to commercial takeoffs and landings from 23:00 to 06:00 under decree DM345/2018[2](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/pax-cia-travel-information) |
| Military tenant | 31° Stormo of the Italian Air Force, flying institutional transport and medical emergency flights[5](https://www.comune.ciampino.roma.it/it/page/l-aeroporto-pastine) |
| Rail link | Ciampino Airlink train + bus ticket, €2.70 between Rome Termini and the airport[6](https://www.trenitalia.com/en/connections/ciampino-airlink.html) |
## Origins as an airship base
The site was chosen by Colonel Maurizio Mario Moris, later called the "father of Italian aeronautics", who documented why a plain beside Ciampino railway station was the most suitable location near Rome: it was sheltered from strong winds, lay on the Rome–Naples railway, and was connected to the capital by the Via Appia Nuova.[3](https://www.comune.ciampino.roma.it/it/page/la-storia-di-ciampino-1) The Ministry of War expropriated the land on 15 January 1916, and on 1 November 1917 the facility was assigned to the Royal Italian Navy and named after Giovan Battista Pastine, an airship pilot who had died in 1916 returning from a night action and was posthumously decorated.[3](https://www.comune.ciampino.roma.it/it/page/la-storia-di-ciampino-1) The Aeroscalo, as it was known, was the largest aeronautical structure in Italy at the time, combining an airship shipyard, a training school for airship crews, and an airfield.[3](https://www.comune.ciampino.roma.it/it/page/la-storia-di-ciampino-1)
The airship era ended by decree in 1928, after a violent dispute between [Umberto Nobile](https://www.edgepedia.org/umberto-nobile) and the Minister of War Italo Balbo following the Arctic tragedy; airships were struck from the air force's inventory and their facilities dismantled across the country.[3](https://www.comune.ciampino.roma.it/it/page/la-storia-di-ciampino-1) The Pastine site became "Ciampino North", separated by a road from "Ciampino South", which had begun operating in 1923; the two were reunified only after the Second World War, when the Allies returned the field in 1947.[3](https://www.comune.ciampino.roma.it/it/page/la-storia-di-ciampino-1)
## Military and early civil aviation
Between the wars Ciampino hosted bomber and fighter aircraft, and in the 1930s the first helicopter designed by the Italian engineer Corradino D'Ascanio flew there.[7](https://www.assoaeronauticaciampino.it/2024/06/12/la-guerra-e-i-velivoli-storici-che-hanno-operato-a-ciampino/) In the 1930s the field was home mainly to fighters while also serving as a civil airport, and it held the [Italian Air Force](https://www.edgepedia.org/italian-air-force)'s central depot for fuel and lubricants along with depots for flight equipment and spare parts.[8](https://www.lasiciliainrete.it/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Airfields-Italy-Sicily-and-Sardinia.pdf) The airport and the growing town of Ciampino were heavily bombed during the Second World War.[7](https://www.assoaeronauticaciampino.it/2024/06/12/la-guerra-e-i-velivoli-storici-che-hanno-operato-a-ciampino/)
After the war, the first domestic scheduled flight, from Turin, landed in 1948, and in 1950 the field hosted the 4° Stormo, equipped with the first Vampire jets assigned to the reconstituted Italian Air Force.[7](https://www.assoaeronauticaciampino.it/2024/06/12/la-guerra-e-i-velivoli-storici-che-hanno-operato-a-ciampino/) After modernization works for the 1950 Jubilee, the whole structure resumed the Pastine name in 1952 and remained the capital's international airport until 1960.[3](https://www.comune.ciampino.roma.it/it/page/la-storia-di-ciampino-1)
## Management and the shift to Fiumicino
Ciampino was Rome's only airport until 15 January 1961, when [Leonardo da Vinci](https://www.edgepedia.org/leonardo-da-vinci) airport opened at Fiumicino.[1](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/azn-history) On 12 February 1974, with the founding of [Aeroporti di Roma](https://www.edgepedia.org/aeroporti-di-roma) (ADR), all activities were assigned to a single handler, which became the exclusive concessionaire for managing and developing Rome's airport system; in July 1997 ADR's privatization began with 45% of its share capital placed on the market through public offering and private placement.[1](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/azn-history)
In the decades after 1961 Ciampino was used for military purposes, charters, leisure aviation, and exclusive flights, before re-emerging as Rome's low-cost hub.[9](https://www.rome-airport.nl/ciampino/geschiedenis/) Today the military side hosts the 31° Stormo of the Italian Air Force, which provides transport for institutional figures and medical emergency flights, alongside the 2nd Air Force Engineering Unit working in logistics.[5](https://www.comune.ciampino.roma.it/it/page/l-aeroporto-pastine)
## Traffic and noise limits
Ciampino's growth as a low-cost base put it on a collision course with the surrounding city. A [European Parliament](https://www.edgepedia.org/european-parliament) study records that movements rose from 26,835 in 2002 to 52,649 in 2018, doubled in six years on the single runway 15/33, with the airport operating from 4 a.m. to midnight and runways less than 200 meters from residential areas; the town of Ciampino had 38,963 inhabitants in 2019.[10](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2020/650787/IPOL_STU%282020%29650787_EN.pdf) A petition to the European Parliament challenged the approval of increased traffic without prior environmental assessment.[11](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2014_2019/plmrep/COMMITTEES/PETI/CM/2023/06-26/1118786EN.pdf)
The regulatory response has cut operations sharply. Under decree DM345/2018, the airport is closed to commercial takeoffs and landings between 23:00 and 06:00, with exceptions for rescue, state, humanitarian, emergency, and firefighting flights and civil aircraft operating as state flights.[2](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/pax-cia-travel-information) ADR's 2024 report attributes the traffic decline to the noise-reduction decree, which imposed a reduction of commercial movements from 100 to 65 flights a day.[4](https://www.adr.it/documents/d/aeroporti-di-roma-en/adr_rai2024_eng_web-pdf) In 2024 the airport handled 3,861,806 passengers, 1% below 2023 and 34% below 2019, with EU traffic of about 2.2 million passengers as its main market.[4](https://www.adr.it/documents/d/aeroporti-di-roma-en/adr_rai2024_eng_web-pdf) In the first half of 2025, from 1 January to 20 July, it recorded about 2.2 million passengers, up 3.5% year on year, while cargo fell 31.2% after the carrier UPS transferred its operations from Ciampino to Fiumicino.[12](https://www.adr.it/documents/d/aeroporti-di-roma-en/adr_rel_fin_con_30-giu-2025_eng_def-pdf)
## Ground transport
The airport has no rail station of its own. The Ciampino Airlink, a combined train and bus service launched by [Trenitalia](https://www.edgepedia.org/trenitalia) and ATRAL, costs €2.70 for travel between Rome Termini and the airport; buses leave from the square in front of the terminal and reach Ciampino railway station in about 10 minutes without intermediate stops, where passengers connect to trains for Termini.[6](https://www.trenitalia.com/en/connections/ciampino-airlink.html) Separate shuttle bus companies, including SIT, Terravision, and RomeAirportBus-Schiaffini, provide daily connections between the airport and Rome Termini, with stops opposite International Departures.[13](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/pax-cia-bus) ATAC city buses 520 and 720 also connect Rome with the airport, and Metrebus Roma Zone A tickets are valid on them.[14](https://www.atac.roma.it/en/frequently-asked-questions/can-i-use-a-bit-ticket--a-tourist-travel-pass-or-a-metrebus-roma-annual-travel-pass-to-travel-between-rome-and-ciampino-airport)
## References
1. [Our history, Aeroporti di Roma](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/azn-history)
2. [Travel information, Rome Ciampino, Aeroporti di Roma](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/pax-cia-travel-information)
3. [La storia di Ciampino, Città di Ciampino](https://www.comune.ciampino.roma.it/it/page/la-storia-di-ciampino-1)
4. [ADR Integrated Annual Report 2024](https://www.adr.it/documents/d/aeroporti-di-roma-en/adr_rai2024_eng_web-pdf)
5. [L'aeroporto Pastine, Città di Ciampino](https://www.comune.ciampino.roma.it/it/page/l-aeroporto-pastine)
6. [Ciampino Airlink, Trenitalia](https://www.trenitalia.com/en/connections/ciampino-airlink.html)
7. [La guerra e i velivoli storici che hanno operato a Ciampino, Associazione Arma Aeronautica Sezione di Ciampino](https://www.assoaeronauticaciampino.it/2024/06/12/la-guerra-e-i-velivoli-storici-che-hanno-operato-a-ciampino/)
8. [Airfields of Italy: Sicily and Sardinia and associated notes](https://www.lasiciliainrete.it/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Airfields-Italy-Sicily-and-Sardinia.pdf)
9. [Geschiedenis van Ciampino Airport, Rome-Airport.nl](https://www.rome-airport.nl/ciampino/geschiedenis/)
10. [Impact of aircraft noise pollution on residents of large cities, European Parliament (2020)](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2020/650787/IPOL_STU%282020%29650787_EN.pdf)
11. [Peti Committee meeting document on the Ciampino airport petition, European Parliament (2023)](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2014_2019/plmrep/COMMITTEES/PETI/CM/2023/06-26/1118786EN.pdf)
12. [ADR Consolidated Interim Report on Operations, 30 June 2025](https://www.adr.it/documents/d/aeroporti-di-roma-en/adr_rel_fin_con_30-giu-2025_eng_def-pdf)
13. [Bus connections, Rome Ciampino, Aeroporti di Roma](https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en/pax-cia-bus)
14. [ATAC FAQ: Metrebus Roma tickets on lines 520 and 720 to Ciampino Airport](https://www.atac.roma.it/en/frequently-asked-questions/can-i-use-a-bit-ticket--a-tourist-travel-pass-or-a-metrebus-roma-annual-travel-pass-to-travel-between-rome-and-ciampino-airport)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Aviation › Airlines and air transport industry › Regional, low-cost, and charter airlines*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license