New United Airlines route may directly connect Denver and...Rome?

This new route would make the dream of flying straight from the Mile High City to the Eternal City a reality.

Daily life in Rome
Daily life in Rome | Anadolu/GettyImages

When it comes to popular tourist destinations, it can be hard to top Rome, Italy. In 2023 alone, 35 million tourists headed for the Eternal City. Rome is the center of one of the greatest and most legendary periods in world history, and has the landmarks to prove it. Plus, Italian food is some of the best in Europe, if not the world. Don't tell anyone in France that or they might start yelling at you. Apparently, the food feud between Italian and French cuisines is very real.

Well, getting to Rome is getting a lot easier, particularly if you live in or are connecting through Denver, Colorado. United Airlines will be launching direct flights between the two cities in 2025, assuming government approval goes through. It's hard to imagine it won't but the United States government isn't exactly business as usual these days so who really knows what will happen.

Airplanes at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey
Airplanes at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey | Gary Hershorn/GettyImages

Regardless, the current plan calls for daily flights between the two cities from May 2 to September 25. The addition of this route means that United Airlines would be running 14 daily direct flights from different cities in the United States to Rome. Americans are generally the part of the world that contributes the second most visitors to Rome each year, so increasing the number of direct flights there makes sense.

Denver is a major hub city for United, so setting this new route up through the airport is an easy call. At the same time, getting a direct flight from Denver to Rome does seem a little odd from an outsider's perspective, even though it's perfectly logical. You can watch a Nuggets game one night, hop on a flight, and be in Rome to take in the sights relatively quickly. That's living the dream.