Summary Pope Francis to begin upcoming Apostolic Journey with ITA Airways, flying to Indonesia on September 2nd. ITA's A330neo chosen for this special mission with eco-friendly operations and experienced crew. Pope will visit four countries in 12-day tour in Asia and Oceania, including Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
Italian national carrier ITA Airways will fly Pope Francis to Indonesia to begin his 12-day Apostolic Journey. On September 2nd, the Pope will fly from Rome to Indonesia onboard an ITA A330neo before visits to Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore. Pope to travel with ITA to Indonesia According to a release from ITA Airways , the Holy Father will depart from Rome Fiumicino Airport's (FCO) Terminal 5 at 17:15 local time on September 2nd, landing in Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK) at 11:30 local time the next day.
The aircraft chosen for the special mission is an ITA Airbus A330neo, and it will be crewed by three pilots and ten flight attendants. Commander Massimiliano Marselli will be the flight supervisor, joined by an ITA Airways special flights team. The A330neo's exceptional economics - operating with a 20% reduction in fuel and emissions compared to previous-gen A330s - will be aided by a special flight plan aimed at maximizing operational efficiency, including the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
As for the Pope, he will be accompanied by his Papal Entourage and members of the international press. It won't be the first time he has flown on an ITA A330neo, having flown one of the widebodies when visiting Dubai for the COP28 climate conference in December. A delegation will be welcoming him onboard the A330neo, including ITA Airways Chairman Antonino Turicchi, General Manager Andrea Benassi, and ITA Chief Commercial Officer and Volare CEO Emiliana Limosani.
Apostolic Journey Pope Francis will be visiting four countries during his Apostolic Journey next month. In fact, the 12-day tour will be the longest of his papacy, seeing him visit: Jakarta on Sept. 3-6 Port Moresby and Vanimo, Papua New Guinea on Sept.
6-9 Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste on Sept. 9-11 Singapore on Sept. 11-13 Having canceled planned trips to Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste during the pandemic, the Pope's visit will be his first to Oceania and the first Papal visit in almost 30 years - the overwhelming majority of Timor-Leste's population are Christians, while Papua New Guinea also has a sizable Christian population of around 26%.
The Pope has tended to travel with the flag carrier of each country he visits (when applicable), making Garuda Indonesia, Air Nuigini and Singapore Airlines likely candidates during his Asian tour. The ITA fleet The Italian carrier is undergoing an exciting period of fleet modernization, inducting the latest generation Airbus narrowbodies and widebodies in the A220, A320neo, A330neo and A350neo. As per ch-aviation, the carrier has 100 aircraft in its fleet, consisting of 16 A220s, 11 A319s, 43 A320s, six A321s, 18 A330s and six A350s.
The Italian carrier accepted the new plane in a ceremony held at the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse. It has been operating the A330neo since June 2023 and now has 11 airframes in its fleet out of a total of 17 orders..
