From Fiumicino Intercontinental Airport to Rome you can get by private pick-up services, cabs, shuttle buses, regional train or Leonardo Express.
You land at Rome Fiumicino Airport and hear the announcement, welcome to Leonardo da Vinci Airport. Maybe you think, oh God, where am I? – Don’t panic! – You are in the right place, Rome’s intercontinental airport. The airport bears the name of the genius artist and philosopher Leonardo. The international code is FCO.
Fiumicino Airport offers the best service and has been awarded the ACI Airport Service Quality awards since 2017. For example, waiting times at security checks are only a few minutes.
Together with Ciampino, it is the only European airport to have achieved the highest level 4+ in the Airport Carbon Accreditation program. Both airports are to be CO2 by 2030.
Airport transfer
The airport is located on the sea near the fishing village of Fiumicino about 30 km from the center of Rome. A highway connects it with the ring road and the southern district of Roma EUR. There is a direct rail connection, the “Leonardo Express” to the main station Termini and the ring railroad line FL1.
Train connections
Trains run from 6 in the morning until shortly after 11 pm.
You can get to the station in T3 on the right through an underpass or take the elevator on the left up two floors and then take the pedestrian bridge. In T1 the elevator is on the right.
The Leonardo Express usually runs every 15 minutes from Fiumicino Airport to Termini Central Station without stopping. The journey time is 32 minutes. The Internet ticket is valid for one trip on the booked day. So you can simply take a later train in case of a flight delay. A child up to the age of 12 accompanied by a paying adult is free.
Tickets: Fiumicino -> Rome · Rome -> Fiumicino · Fiumicino <-> Rome
The regional line FL1 runs in a half-ring around the city. Important train stations are Trastevere, Ostiense and Tiburtina. In Trastevere you change to St. Peter’s Basilica, in Ostiense the Metro B crosses and the line to Ostia begins, Tiburtina is an express station and there is the bus station for connections to the Apennines.
Tickets: from vending machines and in the station for 8 €.
There are also high-speed trains to Florence and Naples. Reservations are required for these trains. Tickets at Omio
Taxis
The Roman taxis are responsible for the journey to Rome. They have fixed prices for different destinations in Rome. The standard is € 51 for destinations within the Aurelian walls. For more details, see our article on taxis in Rome.
For the closer surroundings, the cabs from Fiumicino are responsible. They are more expensive and there is no fixed price.
Most cab drivers are honest, but unfortunately there are always reports of inconveniences. Do not get involved with illegal cabs under any circumstances. There are a lot of scams there.
You can order the pickup in advance and an English-speaking driver will pick you up from the airport.
Since the driver knows your flight number, there will be no problems in case of delays.
You can also pre-order a ticket for 72 hours for all public transportation in Rome, which will be given to you by the driver.
This service is very reliable. Especially for late arrivals in the evening and at night, it is indispensable. Tickets
Shuttle buses
To the right of the Terminal 3 exit there is a small bus station with private lines to Rome and other directions. From Terminal 1, however, it is quite far to the shuttle buses.
You can book two lines here:
Sitbus
The Sitbus goes to Termini Central Station and stops on Via Aurelia and behind Castel Sant’Angelo on the way. So if you don’t want to go to the station area but to the western terminus of metro line A or to the Prati district behind St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sitbus is a good choice. However, the Sitbus has relatively short operating hours in the evening. Tickets
Terravision
Terravision goes directly to the main train station Termini. One advantage of the line is the long operating hours until after midnight. Tickets
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Arrival at FCO
Although it is the largest airport in Italy, it is quite manageable. There are only two terminals, T1 and T3. The remote T5 is only for special flights.
Regarding entry requirements concerning the coronavirus you will find details in our article on the corona rules.
You usually have to wait around half an hour for your luggage and then you continue to your destination.
T1 and T3 are connected internally. If you continue your flight from Fiumicino and have checked your luggage, you do not need to leave the transit area.
Departure from Rome Fiumicino airport
For each terminal, T1 and T3, there is only one entrance with temperature control from the street and one from the pedestrian bridge. You can only get in with a ticket or a boarding pass and not earlier than 3 hours before departure.
Many airlines have only a few check-in desks open and there can be long lines. It is therefore better if you are there two hours before departure.
To bridge the waiting time, take a good book with you or use the free WiFi in the airport.
Information about the approach to Fiumicino
The airport has three runways, during normal flight operations, landing is on two runways from the north and starting on the third runway towards the sea.
If you’re coming from the north, you won’t see Rome when the weather is nice. Coming from the south from Castel Gandolfo, you usually fly a loop over the city and then thread the plane north of Rome into the landing aircraft.
Only in rare cases, with north wind, the whole thing is the other way around. You fly over the city, you can see St. Peter’s Dome, and then come from the south. The flight time is extended by about 10 minutes, but you will be compensated by the view of the city. Unfortunately, these weather conditions are not very common.
In very unfavorable weather conditions, the runway must also be used for landing, but this significantly reduces the capacity of the airport. In very rare cases – but this must be a heavy storm front – flights are diverted to Ciampino airport or you land in Pisa or in Naples.
My son arrives from the US on Delta at Terminal 1 (FCO) departing at Terminal 3 on ITA. He only has one hour. Can he do this? What is the quickest way to do this?
Delta arrives at T3 and if your son has a domestic flight, then he will depart from T1. If he has both flights on one ticket and baggage checked thru to the final destination, he has a good chance that the connection flight will wait for him. T1 and T3 are connected internally, but with time to disembark, passport control, and walking between terminals, an hour is very tight.
Hello! I have a flight booked from Rome FCO to Venice (Marco Polo) via Al Italia (I know that a train would have been a better option, but we had a flight credit) in late August. We plan on taking a day trip – so no checked luggage or anything like that – how much time should we give ourselves between arrival and boarding? Also is the Venice airport similarly efficient (or inefficient)?
Thank you so much for your insight!
Hello, have you seen our suggestions for a day in Venice?
Rome and Venice are both efficient airports. You shall make the web check-in. Then you can go directly to the gate and 60 minutes before boarding shall be enough. I don’t see evening flights from Venice to Rome, so you may stay overnight there.
From Venice airport you can take a taxi or a boat to Venice. Taxi is the fastest but you arrive at Piazzale Roma near the train station and from there you have to walk. The alternatives are the waterbus or a watertaxi. This needs around an hour to arrive but you arrive directly in the center like San Marco or Rialto. With the waterbus (vaporetto), take the orange line, The watertaxi you can book directly on Getyourguide.
Hello I hope you can help me. I arrive in Rome from the US on Delta at 10:35am. My departure is at 12:10pm on Alitalia to Cairo. Is 95 minutes enough time to make the connection?
Hello,
If the baggage is checked thru to Cairo and you don’t need to leave the transit area of terminal 3 this shall be enough.
Good evening, I am scheduled to arrive FCO terminal 3 at 07:40, and my connecting flight departs from FCO Terminal 3 (Gate E15) at 09:15.
This leaves me with 1 hour and 35 minutes to disembark, collect my baggage and check-in for my connecting flight (different airline)
— do you think 1h35 is enough transit time to make the connection?
Hello,
for a simple transit without leaving the gate area it would be ok. But if you have to go trough the airport to collect the baggage and then check-in, make security check and passport control, your chances are not very high. Actually there are not many passengers in Fiumicino but I would not feel comfortable to have such a tight connection with baggage.
hello arriving FCO at 9:10 am from USA. connecting flight to Palermo at 11:55 am same terminal(3). how do I get from arrivals terminal 3 to departures terminal 3 and is that enough time to claim and recheck luggage? Thank you
Hello, behind the exit from the baggage claim area on the left are an escalator and elevators that take you to the departure level of terminal 3. Time is enough.
Hello Bernhard. I am hoping that you will be able to answer my question.
Myself and my husband will be departing to NY from FCO terminal 3, while my daughter will be departing to Australia one hour later from terminal 1. Will she be allowed to go through customs and remain with us at our terminal and then arrive later at her terminal without having to go through customs again? Many thanks for your response.
Hi Linda,
probably your daughter will check in at terminal 1 but departure will be for sure at terminal 3. T1 and T3 are internally connected and there is only one passport control and one gate area (E) for intercontinental flights. The gate areas B, C and D are for national and EU (Schengen) flights. If your daughter goes to Milan or another EU destination and transits from there to Australia, she can not pass with you the passport control.
Please help: I will come in: Rome, at 11:50 (D+1) (FCO), ITALY
Terminal 3, Fiumicino Airport and need to transit to (FCO), ITALY
Terminal 1 Rome at 12:35 Fiumicino Airport. I have 45min to do this. Will I make it in time or do I request for assistance?
Thanks
Hello, 45 minutes is very tight if you come from outside EU (due to the passport control). If you come from the Schengen area and the arriving flight is on time, you can do it. There is a direct passage from T3 to T1 for transit passengers. If you have incoming and outgoing flight on the same booking and baggage checked through, the airline will give you assistance in case of delay.
Hello, we have a flight on Turkish airlines at 7;15 AM on Sunday, leaving out of FCO for the US. How early should we plan to be at the airport? Is the airport and check in counters open in early hours? And finally, what are our options to get to FCO that early from Piazza Navona area? Thanks.
Hello, your departure is at terminal 3. If you fly economy you shall be there around 5:15 for luggage check-in, otherwise 30 minutes later. I think, the best is to take a taxi. You shall book the taxi in advance. Travel time in the early morning from Piazza Navona is around 35 minutes by car, so you shall book the taxi for 4:40. There are not many alternatives, the first train is later and the first shuttle bus leaves at 4:45 from Termini and arrives at 5:40 at the airport. That would be rather tight and on such a long flight you shall start it comfortably.
My son will be arriving on Norwegian Air, and has 1 hour to find his transfer flight with Czech Airlines. Does he have to go through customs, security, etc. to catch his transfer flight? Also, can you tell me the terminal and route he should take once he arrives? Thank you!
This is only possible if your son has already the boarding pass for the connecting flight and he travels with hand luggage. If he wants to check in luggage, he has to clarify before, whether he can check thru baggage from Norvegian to Czech Airlines. This depends on the airline DCS they are using.
Czech Airlines is in codeshare with Alitalia. The Alitalia flight departs from terminal 1, the Czech flight from terminal 3. He will see on his boarding pass the departure terminal. If your son does not leave the transfer area, he has no customs and security control.
Your son arrives at T3. If he arrives at the bus gate, he has to go up one level and then look for the connection flight (T1 or T3).
I will be arriving from JFK (NYC) to Rome on 11/23. I need to meet reps from Royal Caribbean. Their instructions are to go to Arrival Hall. Has anyone done this before? Any more information you can share? Thanks in advance.
You’ll arrive at terminal 3. As soon as you’ve passed customs, you’ll be in the arrivals hall. There wait the tour operator and limousine service with signs in hand. More info about the transfer to Civitavecchia
Hi
I’m flying from TLV to NYC with a connection stop (for 1:50) in FCO
do I need to pass passport control?
If you have your baggage checked through to NYC you can stay in the transit area without passing passport control.
will the bus from airport to termini take bicycles that are not in bags?
Hi Mike,
this depends on the available space and is not guaranteed.
Alternative: The regional trains allow the use of folding bikes free of cost. On the FL1 line to Fiumicino, bicycles may be taken on extra charge.
I am arriving from Johannesburg on Wed 18 Sept AZ 849 6.50am, then direct to Venice AZ 1471 at 8.15. Where do I land and which terminal do I depart from?
Thank you.
Hi,
you shall check thru your baggage to Venice.
You’ll arrive in terminal 3, pass immigration and go then directly to terminal 1. There is a direct passage between T3 and T1.
Hi Bernhard,
I arrive from South Africa at Rome (FCO) at 6:50 on Alitalia. I have a connecting flight on Alitalia to Spain departing at 8:10. One ticket. Will I have enough time to clear customs, check-in again and make the connecting flight?
Hi Cecilia,
with you unique ticket you shall check through your baggage to Spain and do the customs clearance there, also receive the 2nd boarding pass already in SA. You must only pass immigration at Fiumicino and go directly to your connecting flight.
Hello There! Excelent and useful information in this site. I have a question similiar to those above: I am flying from Firenze to Fiumicino, Roma. It will be Alitalia, departing at 6:35 am, arriving at 7:25 am. I think, being a domestic flight, to terminal 1.
Second leg will be from Rome (Fiuimicino, terminal 3) American Airlines, 9:15 am. No checked luggage and most likely boarding pass on hand. My chances are?
Hi, there is a unique transit area between T1 and T3. You can pass internally from T1 to T3 without going to the exit. It is a 10-15 minutes walk from T1 to the passport control at T3, so your chances are excellent.
Arriving in Rome airport at 7:15 a.m., how long will it take to arrive at the terminal for a flight to Bari. What flight time should we look for. Will we have to go through customs again?
To be on the safe side you shall consider 3 hours between passport control, baggage claim and check in of the domestic flight. You shall also check the statistics for delays of your incoming flight on a site like https://www.flightradar24.com/. There is no customs on domestic flights but if you don’t have a transit ticket and you have to check-in in Rome you have to pass the security check. With a transit ticket and baggage check-through, two hours or less are enough.
Arriving at terminal on Norwegian at 11:40 and have a flight to Naples on Alitalia departing in terminal 1, can I make my 2pm flight with collecting my bag and going through customs? Thanks
Hi Elaine,
if the arriving flight is on time it’s ok. If possible, it would be better to check through the baggage to Naples. In alternative, you can take the Leonardo Express to Termini and take the high speed train to Naples.
How many Tourist Information Points are there in Terminal 3? I am being met at Fiumicino Airport and would like to find an appropriate spot at Terminal 3 Arrivals to be met by my contact in Rome
Hi Annmari,
there is only one passenger exit at T3 and one Tourist Information Point. As meeting point I suggest the bar “Semplicemente Roma” opposite the passenger exit inside T3.
Um voo que chega de PARIS (CDG) as 20:25 daria tempo para embarcar em um voo para Larnaca (Chipre) as 22:50. Contando o tempo de recolhimento e entrega das bagagens e passando pelo controle de passaporte?
If you have a connecting flight, you can check through your luggage from CDG to Larnaca. Otherwhise you have some risk like flight delay or delay of baggage return and you shall do this with hand luggage only.
would a US citizen arriving at 8AM into Rome airport and flying KLM to the US be able to make a flight departing at 9:30AM? thanks
For a transit that should go, but it depends on the punctuality of the incoming airline. If you come from Rome and have to drop your luggage, you should be there at least two hours before and for a group even more.