Best Airport Awards, Fiumicino Repeats: Best Large Airport in Europe in 2025

Rome still leads the ranking of European airports. Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Fiumicino , the leading Italian airport, has in fact won the title of “ Best European Airport ” for the seventh time since 2018 in the category over 40 million passengers, awarded by the Airport Council International Europe . The recognition was awarded during the 35th General Assembly of the association, held in Athens, where an independent jury composed of representatives of the European Commission, Eurocontrol, International Transport Forum, European Civil Aviation Conference, Sesar Ju and other institutions have rated the best ports on the continent.

Rome is doing well in the energy transition

The award reflects the commitment of the Roman airport – managed by ADR, a company of the Mundys group – in key areas such as energy transition , with the inauguration last January of the largest self-consumption photovoltaic system present in a European airport, and the advanced management of operational data. No less important is the consolidation of relationships with institutional stakeholders and the ability to attract traffic : in the first five months of 2025, Fiumicino recorded a 7% increase compared to the same period of the previous year.

“With this year's victory we consolidate a European primacy which for us means continuing to maintain those levels of excellence that now position us also at a global level - declared Marco Troncone , CEO of Aeroporti di Roma - it is right to thank first of all our people: a team that has almost doubled in size in the last twelve years and which, with its ability and dedication, is the true architect of this victory. A heartfelt thanks also goes to Enac, Enav, the Police, the entire airport community and our passengers”.

Troncone then added: “We are seeing strong growth in traffic to our country, which makes the future promising but, at the same time, highlights growing challenges in maintaining the levels of capacity and quality needed to fully and promptly seize the opportunity. For this reason, we are ready to launch the new 9 billion euro Airport Development Plan , a great stimulus for the competitiveness and economic growth of our country, to continue to play a leading role in the sector at a European and global level”.

All the winners of the 2025 edition

In the European panorama, the Best Airport Award 2025 – which rewards one or more airports for specific categories, and is therefore not an absolute ranking – also celebrated other airports of excellence. In the 10-25 million passenger category, Hamburg Airport stood out, awarded for its holistic approach to decarbonisation (it is on track to become the country's first zero-CO2 metropolitan airport powered by its own wind farm and a green district heating system) and for investments in environmental and community projects. A special mention also went to another Italian jewel, the renovated Milan Linate airport. For the 5-10 million category, the award went to Vasil Levski Sofia Airport , with a special mention for Larnaka in Cyprus. Among the airports with less than 5 million passengers, the winner was Cork in Ireland: according to the jury, it has demonstrated excellent performance on several fronts — including a period of strong growth in passenger traffic (+10% year-on-year) — while improving operational efficiency, passenger experience and environmental responsibility. Particularly notable is the progress made in sustainability: for two years running, Cork has stood out as the semi-state commercial body with the best performance in reducing carbon emissions in the Republic of Ireland, while continuing to offer a fast and efficient service to travellers. Returning to the large airports, those between 25 and 40 million, Athens was rewarded for the continuous challenges of adaptation also linked to tourist flows.

Finally, the special awards. First of all, the Digital Transformation Award, an initiative of the SESAR Joint Undertaking in collaboration with ACI Europe, which went to Munich Airport, in Germany. “A European airport that has embraced digitalization and adopted innovative technologies and procedures to improve the safety, capacity, efficiency and environmental impact of its operations: among these, service robots and artificial intelligence for turnaround management. Thanks to a strategic orientation towards digital transformation and collaboration with the ecosystem, Munich has established itself as a leader in digital aviation” explains a note. The “Eco-Innovation Award” was instead assigned to the Dutch Maastricht-Aachen , for initiatives aimed at environmental sustainability and in particular for its Electrifly project - a pioneering fully electric door-to-door international travel experience - while the “HR Excellence Award” recognized Lyon Saint Exupéry for its inclusive strategy and attention to staff well-being.

A special award to Ukrainian airports

Particularly touching is the awarding of the Special Award for Resilience to the airports of Ukraine. Closed for over three years due to the war and without operating revenues, these airports were rewarded for their ability to preserve infrastructure, keep staff active and prepare for a possible recovery, despite the dramatic conditions. The recognition by ACI Europe is a concrete sign of solidarity and support from the continental airport community towards their Ukrainian colleagues.

A model airport for the future of flight

Fiumicino's triumph confirms not only its European leadership position but also Italy's growing centrality in the global air mobility landscape. Leonardo da Vinci is now one of only twelve airports in the world with a 5-star Skytrax rating - specifically, the eighth in the world in that ranking - and its role as an intercontinental hub is consolidated year after year, also driving Rome's international reputation as a privileged gateway to Italy and the Mediterranean. The new continental record also consolidates the leadership of "Leonardo da Vinci" as the best airport for the quality of services offered to passengers, awarded last March and continuously since 2017 by ACI World following the levels of passenger satisfaction recorded in the "Airport Service Quality" survey program conducted in over 350 airports around the world.