Glasgow Archdiocese has welcomed the
news that a direct scheduled flight to Rome has been launched by the
budget airline jet2.com.
The flights will take off three times a week to Fiumicino Airport and prices start from £29.99 one way including taxes.
A spokesman for Glasgow Archdiocese said it was a welcome development.
“This is excellent news that will allow many more people to
experience the joy and enrichment of a visit to the eternal city,”
Ronnie Convery, the archdiocesan spokesman, said.
“For many Scots Catholics a trip to Rome would have been beyond their
means but now, with convenient low cost flights, many more people will
be able to have an enjoyable break while also deepening their Faith at
the most significant sites in the Church—the tombs of the apostles, the
catacombs and the great basilicas.”
Mr Convery added that the flights provided a great opportunity for
Scots Catholics to see Pope Benedict XVI again after his visit to
Scotland last year.
“With Papal audiences every Wednesday, and the Pope’s Angelus address
in St Peter’s Square every Sunday [at Castel Gandolfo during summer],
hopefully many more Scots will be able to see the Pope and hear him than
ever before,” he said.
The new destination was launched following research carried out with
Jet2.com’s Glasgow customers who voted Rome as the destination they
would most like to visit from Glasgow in 2012.
The new flights, which
went on sale this week, will operate up to three times a week on
Tuesdays, Thursday and Sundays with the first flight commencing from
March 29 2012.