AN AIRLINE has returned to a major UK airport for the first time in two years.
ITA Airways has returned to London Heathrow Airport after two years and has launched a route to Italy.
The Italian airline is operating two flights a day between the UK and Rome, Italy after securing slots from Lufthansa.
The flights from London Heathrow will depart each day at 10:30am, landing at 2:10pm and the second flight will take off at 4:30pm and arrive at 8:10pm.
Flights from Rome to Heathrow will leave at 7:50am and arrive in London at 9:40am and then at 1:50pm, arriving at 3:40pm each day.
A one-way flight in April costs as little as £57.45 with the airline.
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Last year, Rome was named the world’s best food destination in Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards.
The awards recognise destinations with a high volume of “above-and-beyond reviews and opinions from the Tripadvisor community over a 12-month period”.
TripAdvisor stated: “In Rome, you can drink from a street fountain fed by an ancient aqueduct.
“Or see the same profile on a statue in the Capitoline Museum and the guy making your cappuccino.”
Italy might be well-known for being the home of pizza and pasta, but more specifically a number of great dishes originated from Rome.
For example, Cacio e Pepe, spaghetti carbonara and tray-baked pizza were all created in the city.
Earlier this year, Rome was also named the best city for ‘noctourism’ by Radical Storage.
The luggage storage platform assessed over 50 destinations across four categories including experiences (such as the number of night tours) and natural factors (light pollution levels).
Rome came out on top scoring 6.07 overall out of 10.
The Italian capital scored particularly well in the experience category (9.2 out of 10), offering an impressive 305 night tours.
ITA Airways used to operate flights from London Heathrow but suspended operations due to high costs.
The airline also did not own its Heathrow slots, instead it was leasing them from Etihad Airways for around £3.3million per year.
Instead, the airline turned to focus on London City Airport and London Gatwick Airport.
The airline’s return to Heathrow Terminal 2 has been made possible through its partnership with the Lufthansa Group, which means the airline has been given slots at the airport by Lufthansa.
According to Travel Weekly, the airline said in a statement: “The resumption of flights from Europe’s busiest airport – the most connected airport in the world – was made possible thanks to the co-operation with Lufthansa, which made the necessary airport slots available to ITA Airways.
“Connections between the British capital and Milan Linate will continue to operate via London City Airport.”
ITA Airways chief executive Joerg Eberhart added: “Today we celebrate a major milestone: our company is back at Heathrow, the UK’s only hub airport and the most connected airport in the world.
“Returning to Heathrow will bring many advantages.
“Thanks to the characteristics of the airport, we will be able to operate flights with larger aircraft and greater capacity, increasing both passengers and revenues.”
In other flight news, a UK airport has revealed plans for its first long-haul flights in 15 years – with a massive £500million investment.
Plus, find out when flights are cheapest and what is the best day to book a flight, here.