We will be finishing our Rick Steves tour of Sicily in Catania. I’m looking at flights from their back to the US. The flight will go from Catania to Rome to the US. The connection time in Rome is 1 hr 10 min. Is this long enough to catch out flight to the US??? I’m not familiar with FCO airport. Thank you for any information.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
12006 posts
Is it a single ticket?
Posted by
OP
4 posts
It is our ticket back to the states. The flight is from Catania>Rome>US
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7278 posts
Is your ticket all on same airline? Which airline?
Booked as a single trip?
Posted by
OP
4 posts
It is booked as one ticket through American Airlines but the first flight, Catania>Rome in on Italia Trasporto Aereo. So we have to transfer from whatever gate/terminal it arrives over to international departures. We do not need to go through immigration.
Posted by
Minnesota
578 posts
ITA uses Terminal 1 while American Airlines uses Terminal 3. It’s quite a hike between the two terminals and the time it takes depends on exactly what gates you are transitioning between. Here’s a map that gives you an idea:
Also, you WILL have to go through passport control in Rome because you will be leaving the Schengen area (Italy) and traveling to the USA. It’s anyone’s guess how long this might take. My experience in Rome was pretty quick, but you never know. You may also have to go through security again- I’m not sure about this.
Your connection sounds pretty short to me. It can also be affected by whether the first plane is on time or not, and where you are sitting on the plane. In Catania, be sure to verify that any checked luggage will be checked through to the US so you don’t have to pick it up in Rome.
When I flew from Catania to the States, I took a late afternoon flight from Catania to Rome, checked into a hotel near the airport, had a nice dinner, and returned to the airport the next morning. A much more relaxed way to go home.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you for you helpful reply. Your suggestion of going the night before from Catania to Rome and flying out from there the next day is what I was originally going to do but I actually save $1200/per person to book it as a single ticket. I don’t know why round trip from Las Vegas to Rome costs more than flying in to Rome and then back out of Catania but it is. There is another flight that has a 1 hr 45 min layover but right now shows no business class seats available but there are plenty shown on the seat map. I also think that if American books me as a single ticket and then something happens to delay our connection then they are responsible.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
12006 posts
Delta also sells a CTA-FCO-USA ticket with a 70 minute connection time at FCO.
Unlikely you will have any saunter and dawdle time, but at least two airlines see it as enough time, so barring the unforeseeable late arrival at FCO, you should be fine.