Fire At Rome Airport Causes Cancellations, Delays

A fire at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport resulted in the cancellation of at least 190 flights Thursday, flight tracking service FlightAware.com reported. An electrical short circuit is the likely cause of the fire that affected the main terminal building and caused the airport to shut down just after midnight Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

The fire initially broke out in an underground baggage storage area in Terminal 3, though authorities say it spread to more than 4,000 square feet of retail space beyond the security check-in area. The blaze was brought under control about five hours after it started. At least three people suffered from smoke inhalation, though there were no other serious injuries. An investigation is underway, though authorities don’t believe that foul play or arson was involved.

The disruption snarled flight traffic in and out of Italy’s busiest airport, which serves about 130,000 passengers each day. Alitalia, Italy’s flag airline, had canceled all flights to and from Rome’s airport, with the exception of some intercontinental arrivals. Nineteen long-haul flights were allowed to land early Thursday morning.

Airport officials told the Wall Street Journal that the airport was gradually resuming its schedule Thursday afternoon, though the international terminal was still closed and flights scheduled to depart from there had been moved to the airport's other terminals. Passengers arriving at the international terminal Thursday were sent to other terminals, where they experienced long delays, Reuters reported.