Rome Ciampino Airport

If you think of Rome and aircraft, you think of Fiumicino. Yet for some spotters the more exciting airport lies on the other side of the city: Ciampino has just one runway, a low-rise terminal and, in scheduled traffic, almost only Ryanair. In return, government jets, state guests, business jets and yellow firefighting aircraft land here – on grounds that housed airships when zeppelins were still sailing over the front in Germany.

From airship port to capital airport

Ciampino is one of the oldest airports in the world still in operation today. In 1916, the military was looking for a site for building and basing airships – and found it on a plain southeast of Rome that was considered not very prone to wind. The navy based its airships here, which from the end of 1917 escorted, among other things, mail traffic to Sardinia.

The field experienced its most famous moment on April 10, 1926: the airship Norge, commanded by Umberto Nobile, departed from Ciampino on the expedition that was the first to fly over the North Pole. A few years later, the airship era came to an end, and the field became a bomber base. In 1930, Ciampino made technical history again when Corradino D’Ascanio – later known as the father of the Vespa – tested his helicopter prototype here, which reached a height of around 18 meters.

In the 1930s, civil air traffic was added. In the Second World War, the airport was bombed in July 1943, and after the capture of Rome in June 1944 the Allies used it as a transport hub. For the Holy Year of 1950, the previously separate north and south runways were joined into one continuous runway. Until 1960, Ciampino was Rome’s main airport and at its peak handled more than two million passengers a year.

The airport is named after Giovan Battista Pastine, an airship pilot from the First World War. The official name accordingly reads “Aeroporto internazionale di Roma-Ciampino G. B. Pastine” – in everyday use, everyone simply says Ciampino.

Comet crashes and the step aside

Ciampino was also the scene of one of the darkest chapters of early jet aviation. In 1954, two De Havilland Comets crashed into the Mediterranean shortly after takeoff from Ciampino – BOAC Flight 781 in January, South African Airways Flight 201 in April. The investigations uncovered design flaws and material fatigue in the fuselage and changed aircraft construction permanently. The whole story is told in the article on the De Havilland Comet.

By the early 1960s, the old airport had definitely become too small. Already during the 1960 Olympic Games, Fiumicino, not yet officially opened, took over its first flights, and its official opening followed in 1961. Ciampino moved to the second row: for over three decades, military, charter and business flights dominated here. The number of movements remained low, and the historic airline Alitalia concentrated on Fiumicino.

Low-cost carriers and the dispute over noise

Around the turn of the millennium, the picture changed abruptly. From 2001, the low-cost airlines came, and within a few years passenger traffic multiplied. In 2007 the terminal was expanded to cope with the new traffic. How this business model works and why low-cost carriers love small airports close to cities is explained in the article How low-cost carriers work.

The success had a downside: in the decades before, the area around the airport had been built up densely, partly without permits as well. Aircraft noise became a political issue. From April 2008, only 100 commercial aircraft movements per day were allowed, after 138 before. At the end of 2018, a decree lowered the limit further to 65 movements a day. Ryanair and Wizz Air sued against it but failed in March 2021 before the administrative court of the Lazio region and finally in October 2021 before the Council of State.

For you as a spotter, this means: scheduled traffic is manageable. According to the statistics of the Italian airports, Ciampino counted around 3.9 million passengers and just over 42,000 aircraft movements in 2024 – the latter include general aviation, state and military flights. For comparison: in 2015 it was still almost 5.9 million passengers.

Ryanair: the standard subject

In scheduled traffic, there is no way around Ryanair at Ciampino. The airline maintains a base here and connects Rome with destinations all over Europe, including London Stansted, Manchester, Kraków, Budapest, Prague or Vilnius, supplemented in summer by vacation destinations on the Mediterranean. Depending on the rotation, aircraft of its sister airline Malta Air, which also belongs to the Ryanair Group, may turn up alongside Irish-registered aircraft.

The fleet consists of the Boeing 737-800 and increasingly the Boeing 737-8-200, the high-density version of the 737 MAX. At first glance the two look similar – how to tell them apart is shown in the article Telling Boeing 737 Original, Classic, NG and MAX apart. At Ryanair, it is also worth watching for special liveries, which the airline applies to individual aircraft from time to time.

Wizz Air was the second big airline at Ciampino for years. Current schedule overviews now show only individual, seasonal Wizz connections there. How the picture develops is best checked in the schedule before your visit.

The government fleet: 31° Stormo

In the northwest of the grounds lies the real treasure for spotters: the base of the 31° Stormo, the state flight wing of the Italian Air Force, the Aeronautica Militare. The wing transports the head of state, the government and senior officials, but also flies urgent medical transports, organ transports for transplants and humanitarian missions.

According to the current fleet overview from 2025, the inventory includes, among others:

The fleet is being rebuilt: with the Gulfstream VC-650A (G650ER), the gradual replacement of the Falcons began in 2025. The aircraft carry Italian military serials with the prefix MM, such as MM62209 on one of the A319CJs. Note the serial with every sighting – for state jets, it is the only clean distinguishing feature.

Then there are visitors: during state visits, summits or audiences at the Vatican, foreign government aircraft like to land at Ciampino instead of Fiumicino. According to spotter reports, foreign military transports also use the field for fuel or loading stops. How to recognize such flights in advance is explained in the articles Spotting government aircraft and Tracking military aircraft online.

Firefighting aircraft, business jets and express cargo

Ciampino is the most important base of the firefighting aircraft fleet of the Italian fire service, the Vigili del Fuoco. The amphibious aircraft of the type Canadair CL-415 are painted yellow and red and are hard to mistake. Their big time is the wildfire season in summer, when they take off for missions all over Italy. Such flights are naturally not plannable – with a bit of luck, though, you witness a takeoff or a return.

Business aviation also plays a big role at Ciampino. The range goes from the Italian turboprop Piaggio P.180 Avanti with its distinctive pusher propellers to converted airliners. Especially on days with major political or church events, the number of jets rises noticeably. You practice telling types like Gulfstream, Falcon and Global apart with the article Telling business jet types apart, and strategies are provided by the guide Spotting business jets.

Early in the morning, the field also belongs to the express freighters. According to spotter reports, aircraft from DHL and UPS land on weekdays between about 6 and 8 a.m. If you want to use the morning light, you can start the day with them.

One runway, two directions

The runway system is quickly explained: there is a single runway, 15/33, around 2,200 meters long. It runs roughly from northwest to southeast. According to spotter reports, takeoffs and landings are mostly in direction 15 – aircraft then come in from the northwest over the districts in the southeast of Rome. Direction 33 is rarer and is used mainly in strong winds from northerly directions. How runway numbers derive from the compass heading is covered in the article on runway designations.

Check the current runway direction in use before heading out anyway. A look at flight tracking shows you from which side the Ryanair jets are currently approaching. You find the basics in the article Understanding runway direction in use at airports and in the introduction to flight tracking with ADS-B. State flights are not always visible there – some aircraft transmit restricted data.

Spotting at Ciampino: how to go about it

There is no visitor terrace. The single-story terminal has 16 departure gates and no jet bridges; passengers walk or take the bus to the aircraft. The terminal is hardly suitable for photos. Spotting is done – as at Fiumicino – from public roads, parking lots and field edges around the runway.

Spotter guides describe several established locations. For landings on 15, there are points in the industrial area north of the town of Ciampino and on a rise by the railway line along Via di Ciampino, which have good light mainly from morning until midday. In the afternoon, spotters switch to the other side of the approach. For takeoffs from 15, spotters recommend a location on Via Appia Antica west of the airport in the afternoon, and for the rare landings on 33 a parking lot on the provincial road SP217. Details such as fences, access roads and vegetation keep changing – check the situation on site.

Light, season and equipment

Because the runway runs roughly from north to south, the same applies as at Fiumicino: summer delivers the best light in the morning and in the evening. At midday the sun is high, and the air shimmers above the asphalt – with telephoto shots over larger distances, this quickly makes the pictures soft. With the article on the sun position at the photo spot, you plan in advance when which location is in the light.

The distances at Ciampino are mostly smaller than at Fiumicino because the grounds are compact and the approaches lead over built-up areas. For the Ryanair jets on final approach, a medium telephoto zoom is enough at many points. For state aircraft on the apron or while taxiing, you need more focal length, because you cannot get closer than the public road.

The wildfire season brings the best chance of firefighting aircraft in summer. State flights are spread across the year but accumulate around political dates, international conferences and big events at the Vatican. A look at the news before the trip is worthwhile.

Getting there and combining with Fiumicino

Ciampino is only about twelve kilometers from the center. Several bus lines shuttle between the airport and Roma Termini station. Alternatively, a shuttle bus takes you to Ciampino station, from where regional trains run into the city, or you take a city bus to the metro terminus Anagnina on Line A. For switching between the spots, a car is the most practical, even though the distances are shorter than at Fiumicino.

For a spotting trip to Rome, the combination of both airports suggests itself. At Rome Fiumicino Airport you see long-haul, ITA Airways and many airlines, at Ciampino state aircraft and business aviation. You find the spotting guide for the big brother under Plane spotting at Rome Fiumicino. If you also want history, head to Lake Bracciano for the Museo Storico dell’Aeronautica Militare in Vigna di Valle, the museum of the Italian Air Force.

Ciampino in European comparison

Ciampino belongs to a group of secondary airports close to cities that came back to life through low-cost carriers. Comparable cases are Milan Bergamo Airport in northern Italy, Brussels Charleroi and Paris Beauvais. Frankfurt-Hahn Airport also has a direct connection to Ciampino’s history: from there came, in November 2008, the Ryanair aircraft that flew into a flock of birds on approach and landed with damaged engines.

What sets Ciampino apart from these places is the mix: hardly any other low-cost airport houses both the government fleet of a G7 state and the national firefighting aircraft fleet. Ideas for more destinations are provided by the article on the best spotting spots in Europe.

Conclusion

Rome Ciampino is an airport of contrasts. On one side stand Ryanair jets at a minute-by-minute pace – at least as often as the daily limit allows. On the other, government jets, state guests, business jets and firefighting aircraft roll over the same runway. Add to that a history that reaches back further than at almost any other airport in Europe, with airships, the Norge’s flight to the North Pole and the first helicopter experiments.

Anyone coming here should know what they are getting into: no terrace, frequent checks and scheduled traffic with little variety. If, on the other hand, you collect state aircraft, military serials and business aviation, you find in Ciampino one of the most exciting addresses in southern Europe – all the more as a double act with Fiumicino.