One of the world’s most influential people doesn’t travel by private jet — he and his large entourage need something much bigger.
For his first trip abroad, Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV is chartering a full-size Airbus airliner — effectively a flying Vatican — to transport his staff, clergy, security personnel, and international press as he travels to Turkey and Lebanon from November 27 to December 2.
The Vatican doesn’t have its own airline or airport, so the 180-seater A320neo narrowbody is operated by the Italian state-owned flag carrier, ITA Airways. This means ITA provides the aircraft, the crew, and all of the flight-planning logistics.
ITA was founded in 2021 as the successor to the bankrupt Alitalia. In 2025, it sold a 41% stake to the Lufthansa Group to stay afloat after struggling to grow.
As part of that transition, ITA inherited Alitalia’s traditional role as the “papal airline.” ITA Airways CEO Jeorg Eberhart told Business Insider that the airline didn’t automatically secure the contract but had to negotiate one, and ITA must ensure the flights and routes are efficient.
The A320neo emits 20% less CO2 per passenger than previous-generation aircraft. Eberhart said the pope sometimes uses a next-generation Airbus A330neo widebody on longer-range missions or when there is a larger delegation.
Eberhart said he and other ITA executives are required to be at the airport to meet Pope Leo — or any pope — before their departure: “We have to cancel all of our other appointments, focusing on the expectation that we are there to shake hands.”
These special papal flights are sometimes dubbed “Shepherd One” — a term similar to “Air Force One” when referring to the aircraft carrying the US president.
Eberhart said ITA coordinates the airports, and that the pope’s staff brings his dishes and coat of arms. He added that ITA dresses the seats with Vatican colors. A group of Italian and international journalists accompanies the pope as well.
These individuals typically sit in economy class, while the Pope and his delegation sit in premium cabins up front, Eberhart said.
On the A320neo, this means a basic business layout that is essentially economy class with blocked middle seats. On the 291-seater A330neo, it means wide premium-economy recliners and business-class seats that convert into beds.
The pope often flies home on the flag airline of the nation he’s visiting, though an ITA spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that Pope Leo will be flying home with ITA for his upcoming trip.
Among his 47 trips abroad, Pope Francis flew on carriers like American Airlines, Etihad Airways, and LAM Mozambique Airlines. Pope Benedict XVI also flew home on a plane chartered from Qantas during his 2008 trip to Australia.
These trips cost millions of dollars — but the Vatican doesn’t pay
For his first official trip, Pope Leo departed from Rome’s main international airport — he doesn’t use a private terminal — and flew to Ankara, Turkey. He continued on to Istanbul and will fly to Beirut on Sunday. The aircraft will be staffed with three pilots and seven flight attendants.
These trips can cost tens of millions of dollars, largely due to the expenses of chartering an aircraft, lodging, ground transportation, and security.
It’s unclear how much Pope Leo’s first journey will cost, but the Vatican will likely cover very little of it.
The host nation foots the bill because a papal visit is treated like a state visit, as the pope is both a religious leader and the head of the sovereign Vatican City State.
The Vatican’s responsibilities are limited to providing travel arrangements for some clergy, offering religious texts and ceremonial items, and organizing certain religious events and meetings during the visit.
The Canadian Press reported that Pope Francis’ trip to Canada in July 2022 cost the Canadian government 55 million CAD ($39 million).
British government documents show a 2010 papal visit to London cost roughly £17 million (about $22.3 million) and was split between the country, the UK Catholic Church, and local authorities.
A visit to Mexico in 2016 involved the deployment of 10,000 police officers to protect the pope.
The US reduced its papal bill for Pope John Paul II because Trans World Airlines, or TWA (now part of American Airlines), sponsored several of his flights to and from the US in the late 1900s.
However, the hefty charter can be offset by charging a premium fare to the journalists who want to fly, The Points Guy reported.
Italian carriers have flown the pope for 60 years
The papal air travel tradition dates back to 1964, when an Alitalia McDonnell Douglas DC-8 flew Pope Paul VI to Jordan — the first-ever time a sitting pope traveled by plane and the first time one left Italy since the 19th century.
Alitalia, which carried every pope until it went bankrupt, assigned these flights the special number AZ4000.
Pope John Paul II holds the record for the most extensive travels of any pope. He visited 129 countries and flew three-quarters of a million miles during his 27 years as head of the Catholic Church, whose global congregation is now estimated at 1.4 billion followers.
ITA operated its first papal mission in December 2021 when it flew Pope Francis to Cyprus. It also flew the pope to places like Canada, Malta, and Indonesia before his passing in April.
Eberhart said Pope Francis was “very humble” during his travels, and that he would often sit in any open space to interact with his guests: “He just wanted to be as normal as everybody else,” he said.
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