Pope Francis will set off on his landmark visit to Bahrain on Thursday morning, the start of his first visit to the island country, and his second trip to the Arabian Gulf in three years.
Flight number AZ4000 is scheduled to depart Terminal 5 at Rome Fiumicino Airport at 9.40am, Italian time (11.40am in the UAE).
The head of the Roman Catholic Church will not fly to Bahrain International Airport in Manama. Instead, he is expected to land at the country’s single-runway Sakhir Air base at 4.45pm on Thursday afternoon.
Operated via an Airbus A330 registered EI-EJH, the pope's flight will have zero CO2 impact in terms of fuel consumption.
Flight-tracking website Flightradar24.com is follow the flight on the near 4,000-kilometre flight path. Users can track its progress here.
ITA airways has implemented a special plan for the pope's flight that includes the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), streamlined operational procedures and offsetting carbon emissions.
“It is an honour and a source of great pride for ITA Airways to accompany the holy father’s apostolic journey under the banner of sustainability, a major commitment for the company, as constantly reiterated by Pope Francis in his speeches,” the airline said.
Pope Francis will be joined on the flight by a papal delegation, members of the media and an ITA crew of 14, including four pilots and 10 flight attendants.
Italian commander Massimiliano Marselli, who has more than 18,000 hours of flight experience and has previously commanded papal flights, will once again be in charge of the pope's flight.
Fabio Lazzerini, chief executive at ITA Airways, will be among those waiting to see off the pope at Rome Fiumicino Airport.
ITA has been Italy’s flag carrier since October last year, and is now the official airline for the pope. It took over from former state airline Alitalia which had been the official papal flight operator for 57 years.
Pope Francis has flown with the airline several times already, including flights to Kazakhstan, Malta and Canada this year.
Bahrain prepares for visit of Pope Francis — in pictures
