Now there are Aeroitalia buses at Fiumicino, the company does its own thing and runs the whole chain (for better or worse)

This is significant news for the Italian air transport market and, for Aeroitalia, a choice that may profoundly change the way operations are run at Rome Fiumicino.

In fact, ENAC has issued to Aeroitalia S.p.A. l'authorization for self-production Of ground support services at the airport of Rome Fiumicino, allowing the company to directly manage a significant part of its handling activities. The measure mentions, among others, activities such as. passenger assistance, luggage assistance and several ramp operational functions, including steps related to Aircraft guidance/service, parking, communications, loading/unloading, starting, handling, and some cabin support services.

In other words: Aeroitalia will no longer be limited to flying from FCO, but will start managing a crucial part of the airport experience itself.

Intrieri: "Extraordinarily important day."

Claiming the significance of the move was CEO Gaetano Francesco Intrieri, who called Sunday, March 1, an "extraordinarily important day" for the company, explaining that from Fiumicino took off the First flight handled entirely by Aeroitalia's handling team.

In his statements, Intrieri emphasizes that this is a complex challenge, both operationally and organizationally, but also a strategic goal: the goal is to be able to take care of passengers from the moment they arrive at the airport, offering a service that is more efficient and consistent with the company's standards.

A countercultural choice (and a great challenge)

For the Italian market, this is a move that is anything but trivial. Self-handling by a carrier at Fiumicino represents a choice countercurrent and operationally intensive. Aeroitalia decided to invest in its own structure, including through the purchase of new forecourt vehicles - buses, tractors and vehicles for baggage boarding/disembarkation operations-with the aim of directly controlling the service.

But therein lies the point: from now on, at FCO, everything will depend on the staff and organizational machinery of Aeroitalia. If the bus does not arrive under board in time, for the passenger the responsibility will be the company. If baggage checked in Rome does not arrive at its destination, ditto. If there are delays in ramp operations or disembarkation/embarkation times, there will be no more room to shift the blame to a third-party handler.

It is the flip side of a choice that, if it works, can bring more control, more perceived quality, and faster management of critical issues and especially lower costs.

My "first time" did not go well.

Yesterday, the second day of autarky, I flew from Rome to Genoa, aboard an ATR62 with a low occupancy rate. The flight departed a few minutes late, and did not recover arriving at Colombo about 15 minutes late.

Shortly after takeoff the crew announced that the service would begin, which was then not performed, but more importantly before landing from the cabin they apologized for the delay due to "ground handling." The motivation was stupid to me since it is precisely run by the same company.

The real test will be in the peak season

Today's start is important, but the real test will come in the summer months.

With about 20 movements per day, the system can be managed with still relatively controllable margins. The challenge will be when the movements become more than 30 per day, with Full planes, full holds, tighter shifts, and less room for recovery In case of delays.

And that is when it will become clear whether the investments made-including the branded cobuses and staff strengthening - Will be sufficient to support operational growth without impacting punctuality and service quality.

In conclusion

Aeroitalia has chosen an ambitious path: more control, more responsibility, more exposure. A decision that can turn into a competitive advantage, but one that will require flawless execution, especially when the peak season arrives.