Ministers give thumbs down to Fiumicino airport expansion

(ANSA) - ROME, 07 AGO - Environment Minister Sergio Costa said Friday that he and Culture Minister Dario Franceschini have given the thumbs down to a plan to expand Rome's Fiumicino airport. The ministers have signed a decree expressing a negative opinion of "Master Plan 2030" for the airport's expansion with regards its failure to meet environmental compatibility criteria. "The proposal to expand Fiumicino airport would have impacted in a major way on the Rome coast nature reserve, breaching a series of restrictions," Costa said in a statement. "In October the Via-Vas commission expressed a negative opinion. "Now, after all the necessary administrative steps, we have the definitive signature". (ANSA).