By Angelo Amante
ROME (Reuters) - Rome Fiumicino airport sees room to grow as a hub for long-haul flights and business passengers after Lufthansa won European Union approval to buy a stake in ITA Airways, its CEO told Reuters.
The German carrier got the nod last month for its plan to take a 41% stake in ITA for 325 million euros ($355 million) after a long negotiation with Brussels, which involved ceding routes and slots to rivals to address competition concerns.
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said in July that he believed Fiumicino, where ITA is based, could give the German group better access to markets in Africa and Latin America.
"We expect a further strengthening in the quality of our traffic," Marco Troncone, the CEO of Rome airport operator Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), told Reuters in an interview.
ITA, which took to the air in 2021, replaced the former Italian carrier Alitalia as a much smaller company which managed to limit losses and raise revenues.
Troncone said that while long-haul routes are fast growing, the hub potential is still "under-exploited" considering where it is located. He said Fiumicino could also be a hub towards the Middle East, central Europe and parts of Asia.
A study by TRA consulting firm says ITA Airways had a market share lower than 10% for intercontinental flights in 2023 in Italy, with the figure estimated at 10-12% this year.
"ITA will also have a chance to strengthen its sales effectiveness through the Lufthansa network and relevant channels and expand the business segment," Troncone said, adding the German company's network will also help to lure more passengers from outside Europe.
Troncone also foresees a boost in ITA and Lufthansa's ground operations and said discussions were already ongoing with ITA to expand its lounge facilities at the airport.
Fiumicino is Italy's largest airport with over 40 million passengers in 2023 and is seeing strong growth in 2024, ADR said. ADR is controlled by Italian infrastructure group Mundys.
Fiumicino expects 90 million passengers by 2046, which will require a further expansion of infrastructure at the site, which lies to the south-west of central Rome and close to the coast.
"Many other airports in Europe have a physical constraint on expansion. You can plan a long-term investment here," Troncone said. ($1 = 0.9158 euros)