Rome Fiumicino is Europe’s best airport, confirming its position at the top of international air transport. The “Leonardo da Vinci” has received the ACI EUROPE Best Airport Award (40+ Million Passengers) 2026 for the eighth time since 2018 and for the fifth consecutive year. The award, promoted by ACI EUROPE, the international association representing European airports, was presented last night during the Annual Congress held in Prague. The awards recognise European airports that stand out for staff excellence, digital transformation and the sustainability of airport infrastructure, based on the assessment of an independent jury made up of eight institutional representatives from the aviation sector, including the European Commission, EUROCONTROL, EASA, ECAC and the SESAR Joint Undertaking.

This recognition follows the Best European Airport award received in February as part of ACI World’s Airport Service Quality programme, which is based directly on passenger ratings. It confirms the strength of the “Fiumicino model”, which in 2025 exceeded the threshold of 51 million passengers for the first time. The “Leonardo da Vinci” is now looking to the future with a €9 billion Sustainable Development Plan, designed to meet traffic demand estimated at up to 100 million passengers by 2046 and to further strengthen Italy’s connectivity. This Masterplan represents an industrial trajectory that projects Italy’s main airport among the largest hubs in the Western world, with the aim of further consolidating its role in serving Rome, tourism and the country’s competitiveness.

“Once again confirming Rome Fiumicino at the top of European airports means giving continuity to an industrial model that combines service quality, operational efficiency, applied innovation and environmental sustainability” said Marco Troncone, Chief Executive Officer of Aeroporti di Roma. “This further major achievement belongs to our people and to the entire airport community, but above all it looks to the next phase of development of the ‘Leonardo da Vinci’, which represents a project of primary national interest. Traffic growth forecasts and Rome’s global centrality require adequate infrastructure, targeted investments and a long-term vision. We aim to consolidate Fiumicino’s role as a strategic platform for the country’s competitiveness; working in this direction means strengthening Italy’s connectivity, supporting tourism and the economy, and capturing an increasing share of intercontinental flows.”

For ADR, a Mundys Group company, this recognition highlights a journey that has made quality and operational capability structural elements, thanks to the work of its people and the contribution of the entire airport community. Its European ranking is further confirmed on the global stage by the seventh place achieved a few months ago in the Skytrax World Top Ten; results that reflect the scale reached by the airport and the value of what has been built up over recent years.