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Rome Fiumicino airport · Arrival · Transfer · Departure

Rome Fiumicino airport

You land at Rome Fiumicino Airport and hear the announcement, welcome to Leonardo da Vinci Airport. Maybe you're thinking, oh god, where did I end up? – No panic! – You have come to the right place, in the Rome intercontinental airport. The airport bears the name of the brilliant artist and philosopher Leonardo. The international code is FCO.

In addition to the intercontinental Fiumicino airport, there is also the low cost Ciampino.

Fiumicino has received the ACI Airport Service Quality awards since 2017. It is the only European airport to have achieved the highest level 4+ in the Airport Carbon Accreditation program together with Ciampino. By 2030, both airports are planning to be Co₂ neutral.

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.

Rome Fiumicino Airport Flight over St. Peter's Basilica

There is a temperature control and, depending on where you are from, there may be additional controls. You can find details in our article on the coronavirus.

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.

Roma Pass

The Tourist Information Point (PIT) is located in Terminal 3 on the arrivals level after leaving the baggage carousel. 8 am – 9 pm. Here you can pick up the Roma Pass. However, it is not valid for the journey to Rome.

Airport transfer

If you have ordered a pick-up, someone will be there with your name tag.

If you want to continue by taxi or shuttle bus, go straight out of the terminal and then right. Be sure not to get involved in illegal taxis. There are a lot of scams out there.

You come to the train station in T3 on the right through an underpass or you take the elevator two floors up on the left and then take the pedestrian bridge. The elevator is on the right in T1.

The pedestrian bridge also takes you to the parking garage and the car rental companies.

There are also car rental companies that do not have their offices in the airport. Then take the escalator up one floor to the departure level and wait for someone to pick you up in the parking lot between T1 and T3.

Train connections

The Leonardo Express runs at regular intervals from Fiumicino Airport to Termini Central Station without stopping. The journey time is good half an hour. The internet ticket is valid for one trip on the day booked. Children up to the age of 12 accompanied by a paying adult are free.

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.

Shuttle buses

To the right of the exit from Terminal 3 there is a small bus station with private lines to Rome and other directions.

The Sitbus, which you can book here, goes to Termini Central Station. On the way it stops on the Via Aurelia and behind the Castel Sant'Angelo.

Taxis and chauffeured cars

The Roman taxis are responsible for the journey to Rome. They have fixed prices for different destinations in Rome. The standard is € 48 for destinations within the Aurelian walls. For more details, see our article on taxis in Rome.

The taxis from Fiumicino are responsible for the surrounding area. They are more expensive and there is no fixed price.

It is even more comfortable if you have a chauffeur pick you up at the airport. The vehicles are very high quality. So starts your stay in Rome really classy.

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

Fiumicino airport satellite photo — Satellite image of the airport

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.