Italian premier opens non-Schengen boarding zone at Rome airport.

The new non-Schengen boarding zone E at Rome's Fiumicino airport, which can accommodate six million passengers a year, was opened by Italian premier Paolo Gentiloni on 21 December.

The new boarding pier has 22 gates, including eight on the ground floor of the area's 90,000-sqm, three-storey shopping mall which comprises 40 “Made in Italy” luxury retail outlets and ten restaurants.

The boarding area, which cost €390 million, will cater to 90 destinations outside the Schengen zone of 26 European states.

Describing the opening event as a "day of Italian pride", Gentiloni confirmed that a further €2 billion would be invested in the airport in the coming years.