Vatican City Heliport

Airport in Vatican Gardens, Vatican City

Vatican City Heliport

Portus helicopterorum Civitatis Vaticanae

Eliporto di Città del Vaticano

Daytime view of Vatican City Heliport, looking west

* IATA: none
* ICAO: none

Summary
Owner/Operator| State of Vatican City
Serves| Vatican City
Location| Vatican Gardens, Vatican City
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 / 41.9020; 12.4465
Maps

Map showing heliport in Vatican City

Portus helicopterorum Civitatis Vaticanae

Location on a map of Vatican City

Helipads
| Number  | Length  | Surface

|
|

m  | ft
| 25 × 17  | 82 × 56  | Concrete

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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Operation

[edit]

Flights are conducted only in visual meteorological conditions by visual flight rules.

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.[6][7]

Since 2015, the heliport also serves—in urgent cases—the Bambino Gesù Hospital to transport patients, personnel, and medical equipment.[8]

The helicopter used for the pope is an AgustaWestland AW139 of the Italian Air Force.

## See also

[edit]

* Index of Vatican City-related articles
* Transport in Vatican City

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Ronald V (27 April 2013). "Vatican City heliport". Abandoned, Forgotten and Little Known Airfields in Europe. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
2. ^ "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)
3. ^ Povoledo, Elizabeth (2 May 2013). "With Benedict's Return, Vatican Experiment Begins". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
4. ^ "Pope's Reign Ends After Emotional Farewell". Sky News. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
5. ^ "Tag Archives: Vatican City". The Aviationist. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
6. ^ "Pope leaves Vatican for last time". BBC News. BBC.com. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
7. ^ "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.
8. ^ "Children's Hospital to Use Vatican Helipad For Patient Transport". Zenit. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-20.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vatican City Heliport.

* A visit to the Vatican Gardens (page 2)
* Vatican City Heliport

* v
* t
* e

Vatican City articles

* Index
* Outline
* Holy See
* Properties
* Pope: Leo XIV
* List of sovereigns
* Vicar General for Vatican City

History|

* History of the papacy
* "Prisoner in the Vatican"
* Circus of Nero
* Old St. Peter's Basilica
* Papal tombs
* Navicella
* Leonine City
* Cortile del Belvedere
* Santo Stefano degli Ungheresi
* Lateran Treaty
* Borgo Nuovo
* Borgo Vecchio
* Piazza Scossacavalli

Geography|

| Major basilica|

| St. Peter's Basilica|

* Chair of Saint Peter
* Door of the Dead
* Monument to the Royal Stuarts
* St. Peter's Baldachin
* Saint Longinus
* Pietà
* Vatican Necropolis
* Saint Peter's tomb
* Papal tombs
* Tomb of the Julii
* Vatican Grottoes

|

Apostolic Palace|

* Redemptoris Mater Chapel
* Borgia Apartments
* Clementine Hall
* Loggias
* Papal apartments
* Stufetta del cardinal Bibbiena
* Cappella Paolina
* Raphael Rooms
* Niccoline Chapel
* Sala Ducale
* Sala Regia
* Scala Regia
* The Vision of Constantine
* Sistine Chapel
* altarpiece
* ceiling
* Room of Tears

Vatican Museums|

* Historical
* Paintings
* Modern and Contemporary Art
* Pio-Clementino
* Chiaramonti
* Gregoriano Etrusco
* Gregoriano Egiziano
* Pio Cristiano
* Ethnographic
* Bramante Staircase
* Maps

* Gregorian Tower
* Casina Pio IV
* Sant'Anna dei Palafrenieri
* Domus Sanctae Marthae
* Holy Spirit Chapel
* Gardens
* Santa Maria della Pietà in Camposanto dei Teutonici
* Collegio Teutonico
* Teutonic Cemetery
* Mater Ecclesiae Monastery
* Sant'Egidio in Borgo
* Santi Martino e Sebastiano degli Svizzeri
* Paul VI Audience Hall
* The Resurrection
* Passetto di Borgo
* San Pellegrino in Vaticano
* St. Peter's Square
* Via della Conciliazione
* Fountains
* Porta San Pellegrino
* Ricciolo d'Italia
* Saint John's Tower
* Santo Stefano degli Abissini
* Vatican Pharmacy
* Vatican Hill

Politics|

* Elections
* Foreign relations
* Vicar General
* Law

* Crime
* Fundamental Law

Governance|

* Pope Leo XIV
* Cardinal Secretary of State Vacant

Government|

* Roman Curia
* Apostolic Camera
* Commissions
* For Vatican City State
* Councils
* Congregations
* Dicasteries

Military|

* Corps of Gendarmerie
* Swiss Guard
* See also: Corps of Firefighters

Economy|

* Banking
* Vatican euro coins
* Communications
* .va [Internet domain]
* Poste Vaticane
* Postage stamps and postal history
* Homelessness
* Secretariat for the Economy
* Tourism

Infrastructure|

* Transport
* Heliport
* Rail

Culture|

* Academy of Sciences
* AT telescope
* observatory
* Architecture
* Archives
* Apostolic Archive
* Climate Forest
* Demographics
* Languages
* Library
* film
* Music
* Sistine Chapel Choir
* Philatelic and Numismatic Office
* Public holidays

| Media|

* Holy See Press Office
* Vatican Information Service
* Vatican Media
* Vatican News
* Vatican Radio
* Vatican Television Center
* Vatican News App
* Vatican Publishing House
* Acta Apostolicae Sedis
* Annuario Pontificio
* L'Osservatore Romano
* Pope2you

|

Religion|

* Catholic Church

Symbols|

* Anthem
* Coat of arms
* Flag

Sports|

* Amateur Sports Association
* Cricket team
* National football team (Men)
* National football team (Women)
* Vatican Athletics

* Vatican City portal
* Catholic Church portal

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template