Da Vinci International Airport (now known as Rome Leonardo Da Vinci Fuimicino Airport) is the second largest gateway in Europe that services a total of 30+ million people annually. The airport opened in 1961 with only two runways replacing the Ciampino airport that was designated for domestic and charter flight operations.
Alitalia Airlines that operates out of Rome invested heavily into the installation of a third runway to handle the increased airline traffic at the airport. Da Vinci airport is approximately 21 miles from the city of Rome by car and as of October 2006 any patron who uses a taxi to and from the airport pay a fixed rate of 40 euros which is in U.S. Dollars is $58. That rate is pretty high because American cabs usually charge a fixed rate depending on the area serviced and it's most often half that amount for a single trip.
Travelers have the option, if they want to save money on cabs and driving, to use thei train system and taking a 30-minute ride to Rome and disembark in downtown Rome at Termini Station. Da Vinci Airport has had only five documented incidents in December 1973, December 1985, April 1986, October 1988, and September 2005 out the airport's entire 47 and a half years in operation.
Rome Airport has four main terminals. In total, Rome International Airport has 122 air carriers with at the time of writing a possible two new airlines being added to the service roster. Da Vinci Airport has more air carriers than Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles the 3 busiest airports in the United States combined. Rome Airport offers travellers a wealth of shopping experiences, with a choice of over 140 outlets throughout the airport offering a varying range of products (designer clothing , perfumes , jewellry , food).
Most offer vast discounts for things that would be expensive to purchase back in the United States since items brought from overseas is taxed up to as much as $500. This is why many Americans who travel through Da Vinci Airport request that things they purchase through the duty free stores to ship them to their house so they can bypass the security check due to restrictions on the quantity of specific items like liquor and perfume because of the current regulations of people flying with liquids in their luggage which was applied to aviation policy after 9/11.
The drivers staged various forms of protests, besieging main squares, deliberately snarling traffic, blocking access to several airports and organizing go-slow drives, local media reported.
In Rome, the drivers descended on central Piazza Venezia, the city center of Rome, soon after midnight after taxi unions abandoned the negotiating table.
They remained there throughout the night and forced local authorities to close the square off to traffic.
Some 60 other taxis took part in a go-slow drive from the city's main airport to the city and back again, causing further problems.
The protests were replicated in Naples, Turin, Genoa and Milan, where drivers blocked access to the city airport.
Italian Economic Development Minister who drew up the bill contested by the drivers, said that "they (the taxi drivers) do not own the city."
The matter of controversy is a government decree that intends to liberalize taxi licensing and break the virtual monopoly status of local taxi federations.
This decree orders municipal administrations to increase the number of taxi licenses issued and give out temporary permits during predictably busy periods.
One of the most controversial aspects is a measure which would have allowed private firms to enter the sector by acquiring licenses and then hiring their own drivers.
Taxi licenses in Rome are regarded as private property by their holders, who trade them on when they retire or pass them on to their children. The practice has created a grey market in which the cost of a permit can reach as high as 200,000 euros (about 240,000 U.S. dollars).
Italy's 40,000-strong fleet of taxis is the smallest in Europe. According to official statistics, there are 2.1 taxis per thousand inhabitants in Rome compared to 8.3 in London and 9.9 in Barcellona.
The number of taxis operating in Rome is 5,820, compared to more than 61,000 in London, almost 43,000 in New York and 17,000 in Paris, the report said.
Complaints from residents and tourists over the difficulty in finding taxis during peak hours and at night have shot up in recent years, with taxi drivers accused of deliberately restricting the number of cars available in order to safeguard their earnings and the values of their licenses.
Both Jez Rourke & Rome Airport are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.