After several months of negotiation, the Executive Management of the AirWeGo Virtual Airline Group are please to announce the opening of a brand new, and first European, fixed wing base at Rome - Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport.
Rome has over two and half thousand years of history and is recognised as a cultural, historical and religious centre by many. Its fantastic Roman ruins, the Vatican and the beautiful countryside surrounding the city all contribute to drawing millions of visitors a year to The Eternal City.
Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, formally known as Fiumicino was selected as the base for AirWeGo flight operations from the three airports serving Rome. Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport (LIRF) is located eighteen miles from the centre of Rome with five terminals and four runways (16L/34R, 16R/34L, and 07/25) comprise the main facilities used by almost thirty three million passengers in 2007.
With a central geographical position with the extended European Boarders Rome has an incredible number of destinations within a two flight time often preferred by virtual aviators. North Africa, The Greek Islands as well as comprehensive range of domestic destinations all feature in a schedule utilizing both the MD80 and Dash 8-300.
Access to these destinations from AirWeGo's traditional UK bases has usually required a sector time of over fours hours and has perhaps prohibited some pilots from selecting them due to personal time constraints. However Athens, Monastir, Sofia, Kerkira and many more will all be within a two hour flight time of Rome for pilots basing themselves in Italy. The full schedule is available on the AirWeGo Virtual Airline Group web site.
The popular Dash 8-300 was selected to service domestic destinations. With the availability of good quality freeware flight sim models the Dash has long been a favorite of many virtual pilots. The MD80 has a solid and dedicated following and while not being the most modern of aircraft its selection accurately reflects the continued popularity of this aircraft within airline fleets.
In advance of operations commencing AirWeGo will be operating ferry flights from the UK to Rome to reposition aircraft. A detailed flight report of the first of these flights can be viewed here.
