(AGENPARL) – mar 18 aprile 2023 PRESS RELEASE
Pope Francis flies to Budapest with ITA Airways
Departure from Rome Fiumicino Airport on April 28 at 8:15 a.m. on the carbon-neutral Airbus A320neo
Rome, April 18, 2023 – The Holy Father will depart on April 28 at 8:15 a.m. from Rome Fiumicino Airport to Budapest-Ferenc Liszt International Airport. For this upcoming Apostolic Journey, he will be travelling on an ITA Airways flight with zero CO2 environmental impact.
ITA Airways has chosen the Airbus A320neo with new blue livery to accompany the Holy Father on his trip. This is a technological and efficient aircraft, benefitting from a 20% reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per passenger compared to previous generation aircraft.
As usual, the flight will depart from Terminal 5 at Leonardo da Vinci Airport, with landing scheduled at 10:05 a.m. local time.
Welcoming the Holy Father on board at Fiumicino Airport there will be Antonino Turicchi, President of ITA Airways, Fabio Maria Lazzerini, CEO and General Manager ITA Airways, and Emiliana Limosani, Chief Commercial Officer ITA Airways and CEO Volare. Commander Massimiliano Marselli, with 18,000 hours of flight experience will be the supervisor of on-board activities; the crew will be of 9 people, including 3 pilots and 6 flight attendants, plus the ITA Airways team dedicated to special flights. For the first time on a papal flight, the Company’s staff will wear the new ITA Airways uniforms. As usual, in addition to the papal delegation, representatives of the Italian and international press will travel with Pope Francis.
For ITA Airways, it is an honor and a source of great pride to accompany the Holy Father on his Apostolic Journey, which was planned under the banner of sustainability, a central effort as also the Holy Father constantly recalls in his Magisterium.
On this trip, ITA Airways has prepared a plan that contemplates the efficiency of operational procedures, the use of SAF (Sustainable Airline Fuel) for an amount equal to 0.5 percent of the refueling needed for flights, and the full offsetting of emissions that cannot be eliminated through participation in a Gold Standard certified CO2 reduction project.
For press information:
Nicolò Mardegan – Head of Communication and Institutional Relations
ITA Airways is a company totally owned by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance for the exercise of business in the air transport sector. ITA Airways aims at creating an efficient and innovative air carrier that will become a reference point in providing Italy with quality connectivity both in terms of international destinations, thus boosting tourism and foreign trade, and within the Country, also taking advantage of the train-air integrated mobility. ITA Airways will place the best customer service at the center of its strategy (through a strong digitization of processes that ensure a best-in-class experience and personalized services), combined with sustainability, in its environmental (new green and technologically advanced aircraft, use of sustainable fuels), social (equality and inclusion for a gender-neutral company) and governance (integration of sustainability into internal strategies and processes) aspects. ITA Airways is a member of SkyTeam alliance as of October 2021.