ITA is flying Pope Francis to Bahrain on an Airbus A330 today

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Pope Francis is travelling today from Rome Fiumicino to Sakhir Air Base in Bahrain on ITA Airways' most recent papal flight.

Following high-profile journeys to Malta, Kazakhstan, and Canada this year, His Holiness embarks on his most recent trip with ITA.

Pope Francis is flying on a special Airbus A330-based ITA Airways flight on November 3.

The flight took off from Terminal 5 at Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) at 9.40 a.m. local time, and it was scheduled to touch down at Sakhir Air Base in Bahrain at approximately 4.45 p.m.

Along with members of the ITA Airways staff and officials from the Italian and foreign media, the Holy Father is accompanied by a papal delegation.

At Rome Fiumicino Airport, the Pope was bid farewell by ITA Airways CEO Fabio Maria Lazzerini and Emiliana Limosani, Chief Commercial Officer of ITA Airways and CEO of Volare.

It will be the first time a pope has visited Bahrain. His Holiness will touch down at Sakhir Air Base, a VIP-only single-runway airstrip in Bahrain.

In line with ITA's sustainability commitments, the Pope's flight to Bahrain will have zero CO2 impact in terms of fuel consumption.

The Italian carrier said that its sustainability initiatives include "the streamlining of operational procedures, a program to support the use of SAF, and the abatement of the share of residual CO2 with a Gold Standard-certified emissions offset initiative."

ITA Airways added, "It is an honour and a source of great pride for ITA Airways to accompany the Holy Father’s Apostolic Journey under the banner of Sustainability, a major commitment for the Company, as constantly reiterated by Pope Francis in his speeches.

Sustainability is among the Company's primary commitments."

The Airbus A330, sporting ITA's new Azure livery, is piloted by a crew of four pilots and served by ten flight attendants.

As with previous papal flights, Commander Massimiliano Marselli, boasting 18,000 hours of flight experience, is the supervisor of on board activities.

As Simple Flying reported last year, ITA replaced Alitalia as the Pope's airline after launching its inaugural commercial flight in October 2021.

Pope Francis travelled with Italy's new flag carrier for the first time on December 2, 2021, flying from Rome to Cyprus on board an Airbus A320.

His Holiness has flown with ITA on multiple occasions since then, including journeys to Canada and Malta along with a recent trip to Kazakhstan this September.

The Holy Father usually travels with an entourage of around 30 people.