Air India starts operating four weekly direct flights to Rome Fiumicino.
Rome is the airline's second destination in Italy, behind Milan, and its ninth gateway in Mainland Europe.
After almost six years, Air India expanded its foothold in Mainland Europe with the launch of its new four-times-weekly nonstop route to Rome Fiumicino. Rome is the second destination in Italy, after Milan, and the ninth gateway in Mainland Europe for Air India.
At 1332 hours (IST) on March 25, Flight AI123 took off from Delhi and landed at Rome Fiumicino in the evening to a cordial greeting from representatives of the Indian Embassy in Italy, Fiumicino airport officials, and Air India employees.
The first flight was welcomed by a delegation including Vani Rao, Ambassador of India to Italy and San Marino; Gaurav Gandhi, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India in Rome; Swaminathan Krishnamoorthy, Head of Chancery, Embassy of India in Rome; and senior officials from Aeroporti Di Roma, who also inaugurated the departing flight from Rome, which landed in Delhi at 1029 Hrs (IST) on March 26, 2026. The officials honoured the first passenger to board the flight and performed a traditional Indian ceremony that included lighting lamps and cutting cakes.
Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India stated, “Demand for travel between India and Europe continues to grow across both leisure and business segments, with the two nations sharing so much in common culturally and their increasing exchange that continues to deepen business, trade, and people-to-people ties. In addition to facilitating easy travel to and from locations around the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia via our Delhi base, we are thrilled to reunite the two historic capital cities.”
Italy continues to be a significant trading, travel, and cultural exchange partner for India. Strong cooperation in industries like engineering, automation, fashion, and design helped the two nations’ bilateral commerce surpass USD 14 billion in 2025. More than 200,000 people of Indian descent call Italy home, making it one of the largest Indian communities in continental Europe and contributing to the continually rising demand for travel between the two nations.
“The new direct connection to Delhi enhances our offering to the Indian capital and meets the growing travel demand between Italy and India,” stated Ivan Bassato, Chief Aviation Officer of Aeroporti di Roma. Rome Fiumicino’s position as a major international hub in the Mediterranean, which is becoming more and more important for air connections with Asia, is further strengthened by this new route.
The airline now uses its B787-8 aircraft to fly between Delhi and Rome four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The aircraft features a two-class cabin configuration with 18 fully flat beds in Business Class and 241 spacious seats in Economy Class.
The flight schedule has been designed to enable convenient connections via Delhi to several destinations across India and Southeast Asia, including but not limited to Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malysia, Singapore, and Vietnam. This makes it simple for passengers from Italy to use Air India’s expanding domestic and international network.
Eight locations in Mainland Europe Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Milan, Paris, Rome, Vienna, and Zurich are presently served by the airline’s nonstop flights from India.
