Vatican City Heliport
Vatican City Heliport Portus helicopterorum Civitatis Vaticanae | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Daytime view of Vatican City Heliport, looking west | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | State of Vatican City | ||||||||||
| Serves |  Vatican City | ||||||||||
| Location | Vatican Gardens, Vatican City | ||||||||||
| Hub for | Papal Helicopter Flights | ||||||||||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+01:00) | ||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+02:00) | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 75 m (246 ft) | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°54′07″N 12°26′47″E / 41.9020°N 12.4465°E | ||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||
 Map showing heliport in Vatican City | |||||||||||
  Portus helicopterorum Civitatis Vaticanae Location on a map of Vatican City | |||||||||||
| Helipads | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Vatican City Heliport (Latin: Portus helicopterorum Civitatis Vaticanae, Italian: Eliporto di Città del Vaticano) consists of a 25 × 17 m (82 × 56 ft) rectangular concrete landing area linked with a circular parking area.[1] It is used for short journeys from or to Vatican City by the pope and visiting heads of state. The heliport is the only aviation facility within Vatican City, making all helicopter flights technically international flights.
Structure
[edit]The heliport is at 75 m (246 ft) above sea level, in the French-style portion of the Vatican Gardens, and is referred to also as a helipad.[2][3][4][5] It is situated in the westernmost bastion of the Leonine Wall, which marks the westernmost point of Vatican City State.[6]
History
[edit]It was constructed in 1976 under Pope Paul VI (1963–1978), facilitating transfers between Vatican City and the summer papal residence at Castel Gandolfo for occasions such as the regular Wednesday general audience, when travel by car could take a couple of hours each way and would cause inconvenience to other road users.
In 1978, Pope John Paul II had a bronze statue representing Our Lady of Częstochowa placed nearby.
In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI took a direct flight from the Vatican City Heliport to the Torraccia Airfield in the San Marino, and back to the Vatican City Heliport later that day.[7][8] Making it the first direct international flight from Vatican City to a country besides Italy.
In 2026, Pope Leo XIV took a direct flight from the Vatican City Heliport to the Monaco Heliport in the Principality of Monaco, and back to the Vatican City Heliport later that day.[9][10] Pope Leo XIV also visited San Marino by direct helicopter flight from the Vatican City Heliport in 2026.
Operation
[edit]Flights are conducted only in visual meteorological conditions by visual flight rules.
For most pastoral visits within Italy, papal flights are onboard a helicopter and use the heliport.[11] One exception was the pope's 2026 visit to Lampedusa.[12]
Worldwide publicity was given to the heliport on the afternoon of 28 February 2013, when Pope Benedict XVI departed Vatican City for Castel Gandolfo mere hours before his resignation took effect.[13][14]
Since 2015, the heliport also serves—in urgent cases—the Bambino Gesù Hospital to transport patients, personnel, and medical equipment.[15]
The helicopter used for the pope is an AgustaWestland AW139 of the Italian Air Force.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Ronald V (27 April 2013). "Vatican City heliport". Abandoned, Forgotten and Little Known Airfields in Europe. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
- ↑ "Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Jimmy Carter, 1980–1981". 2 (24 May to 26 September 1980). National Archives and Records Administration: 1242.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ↑ Povoledo, Elizabeth (2 May 2013). "With Benedict's Return, Vatican Experiment Begins". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
- ↑ "Pope's Reign Ends After Emotional Farewell". Sky News. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
- ↑ "Tag Archives: Vatican City". The Aviationist. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
- ↑ "Westernmost Point of Vatican City State". Google Maps. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
- ↑ "VISITA PASTORALE DEL SANTO PADRE BENEDETTO XVI ALLA DIOCESI DI SAN MARINO-MONTEFELTRO (19 GIUGNO 2011) - PROGRAMMA". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 2026-08-29.
- ↑ Rtv, San Marino (2023-07-15). "L'atterraggio del Papa e la bandiera sullo Shuttle, "In volo sul Titano" celebra 40 anni di Aeroclub". San Marino Rtv (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-08-29.
- ↑ "Apostolic Journey of the Holy Father to the Principality of Monaco (28 March 2026)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
- ↑ Vatican News (2026-03-28). Vatican Media exclusive: Pope Leo XIV’s trip to Monaco in one minute. Retrieved 2026-07-21 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Pastoral Visit of the Holy Father to Pompeii and Naples (8 May 2026)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
- ↑ "Pastoral Visit of the Holy Father to Lampedusa (4 July 2026)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
- ↑ "Pope leaves Vatican for last time". BBC News. BBC.com. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
- ↑ "The Pope leaves the Vatican for the last time". The Daily Telegraph. 28 February 2013. Archived from the original on 28 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
- ↑ "Children's Hospital to Use Vatican Helipad For Patient Transport". Zenit. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-20.
External links
[edit]
- A visit to the Vatican Gardens (page 2)
- Vatican City Heliport Archived 2016-04-26 at the Wayback Machine
