ROME (Reuters) - Rome's Ciampino airport, which is used by budget airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air, will reopen later on Wednesday, more than 36 hours after a small fire forced operations to halt, the airport authority said.
The fire broke out early Monday in the terminal basement, scorching a handful of cardboard. Hundreds of passengers were forced to evacuate and some spent up to eight hours in a nearby car park waiting in vain for a return to normal.
Most flights were eventually switched to Rome's main airport, Fiumicino.
Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), which manages Ciampino, said in its statement on Wednesday that the fire had taken "around one minute" to put out and had caused no damage to the building.
An ADR source said the company was deeply frustrated by how long Italy's air authority ENAC and the local health authority had taken to decide the airport was safe.
ENAC issued a statement on Wednesday giving Ciampino the green light. It thanked the health authority for its "speedy" intervention enabling a "rapid reopening" of the airport.
(Reporting by Stefano Bernabei; Writing by Crispian Balmer, Editing by William Maclean)