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Customs on connecting flight

Posted by (Chicago, IL, United States) on

I'm flying Alitalia from Chicago to Pisa in less than two weeks. The flight goes non-stop from Chicago to Rome, then I have to change to a different flight number to Pisa. When will I go through customs - in Rome or in Pisa?

Also, does anyone know if I'll have to get my luggage in Rome & recheck for the flight to Pisa, or if it will get (hopefully) handled behind the scenes?

Both flights are Alitalia, there's a 1 hour 40 minute delay between flights, and the ticket was purchased as Chicago to Pisa (not 2 separate flights).

Posted by
15079 posts

Do you mean the flight goes from Chicago to Rome (I hope so because if you bought a flight from Chicago to O'hare--you got ripped off.)

Yes, you will have to clear customs and immigration in Rome. The flight from Rome to Pisa is a domestic flight in Italy which would be like flying from Chicago to New York in the U.S. No customs, no immigration.

When you clear customs, I'm not sure, but Alitalia will probably have a check in desk for those continuing on to another flight.

That said, it is Alitalia, which is a roll of the dice in itself.

Posted by
22 posts

Antuany, beware passport control at Fiumicino in Rome. The line for non-EU passport holders is not a line but more like a cattle corral. It took us over an hour to get through last year (and that's after they finally allowed non-EU people in the EU line). We nearly missed our flight to Florence (had to beg in half-Italian, half-English) but made it. Do not dally on your way to passport control & domestic connections and try not to get behind someone in Middle Eastern or North African dress. Not being prejudiced here, but they were the ones that were most closely questioned by Italian passport authorities. Otherwise, have a great time! PS--Our luggage made it to Florence no problem.

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