Sandra I have flown out Ciampino on Easyjet gazing down at the housing surrounding the airport and have thought how badly located the airport is. (I am a urban planner by profession).

Now easyjet fly to Fiumicino I much prefer that route because of the Leonardo express goes straight to Terminii where I can pick up train to Orvieto where I have a house.

The good thing about Viterbo is that it is superbly accessible by trains with the relatively underused suburban routes from Roma (two routes) and to the high speed network at Orte and the main cruise port at Civitivecchia being within easy reach. It is s good location and easier to get to than Ciampino despite its City Centre location.

Experience will tell

Ryanair doesn’t want to move to Fiumicino because I imagine it’s more expensive.

I cannot believe that once again Ryanair is manipulating the facts to gain public support.

Wanting to close down Ciampino has absolutely NOTHING to do with Alitalia and is something which we, the residents of the areas around Ciampino have been battling for many years.

Yes, you are right, the airport of Ciampino was built in 1916 but solely for military purposes which meant occasional and very small flights. There were no plans or licenses to extend it to commercial flights when all the surrounding houses were built.

With the advent of low cost flights Ryanair had paid its way through and has bought out Ciampino airport. The fault is also of our politicians but it’s the 15.000 people who live around Ciampino that are now paying the consequences.

I live in a town about 3kms from the airport and the situation has become UNSUSTAINABLE. I cannot even begin to explain how bad it now is. The first Ryanair plane leaves at 6.30 in the morning, 7 days a week and the last plane is at 11.45. There are more than a hundred planes in between which are so loud that our house actually shakes. We chose to move out of the city to live in the quiet of the countryside and now this is what we have to contend with. Whenever a plane goes by it is so loud that we actually have to stop speaking.

The worst thing about this whole situation is that the levels of noise and pollution are ILLEGAL. They do not respect any Italian or European laws and has been proven that this is the case. Not only is noise a very big issue but the hospitals around Ciampino dispense the highest quantities of anti-cancerogenous drugs in the whole of Lazio because of the airport pollution.

I do understand that for those who aren’t involved Ryanair is just a way to get around cheaply but I can assure you that for those who are affected by the noise and pollution around Ciampino it is a whole different picture.

It’s up to you whether you choose to believe Ryanair’s propaganda or the words of someone who lives in the area but, if Ryanair’s story is true why haven’t they chosen to accept the possibility to move all their flights to Fiumicino as has been suggested in the past? That would help them compete directly with Alitalia.

BTW, I’m one of the SoCal guys who loves the Bay Area (and tried not to leave after I finished up at Stanford, but my job took me elsewhere). I’m also a big public transit fan. When I first moved back down to LA, I took public transit to work for over a year – definitely not a common thing in these parts. We also live fairly close to the Blue Line rail here, so I take that up to downtown LA on occasion. So I definitely try to carry that mindset with me.