EasyJet expands presence at Rome's Fiumicino airport

By Angelo Amante

ROME (Reuters) - British airline easyJet on Tuesday said it was launching five additional routes from Rome's main airport of Fiumicino, as part of a broader strategy to expand its presence in Italy, which has become the carrier's second largest market.

The low-cost company said new flights to Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Zurich and Brussels will help increase its capacity at the airport by 35% compared to last year, creating 150 new jobs and operating a total of 16 routes.

"The opening of the new base at Fiumicino is a milestone in strengthening our presence in Italy," easyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis said in a statement.

The Italian capital is currently hosting the Jubilee, a Holy Year for Roman Catholics, which is expected to bring up to 32 million tourists in 2025, according to the Vatican.

Last year, the British carrier also announced plans to grow at Milan's Linate airport, following the European Commission's approval of Lufthansa's acquisition of a minority stake in Italy's state-owned ITA Airways.

Lufthansa and the Italian government had to agree on commitments to safeguard competition, including ceding slots at Linate so that easyJet could start short-haul flights from Rome and Milan to certain airports in central Europe.

The new easyJet base at Linate, located close to the centre of Milan, includes five aircraft and serves 22 routes.

"We continue to remain committed to our core markets, Milan Malpensa and Naples," Jarvis told an event in central Rome.

The growth of easyJet in Italy may represent a challenge for other airlines operating in the European Union's third largest economy, whose domestic market is dominated by budget carrier Ryanair.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said last week in Brussels that rivals such as easyJet will not be able to compete on fares.

"They're simply taking over routes that were previously operated by ITA. The tickets will be modestly less expensive than ITA." 

"We're growing. Our traffic in Italy will rise this year by about 8% from 60 to 65 million passengers. So we're travelling along, still growing very rapidly in Italy," he said.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante in Rome; Additional reporting by Joanna Plucinska; Editing by Keith Weir)