flight issues

We did a safari in Kenya and Tanzania in August and before returning to the USA spent a week in Amsterdam.

The Schipol Airport in Amsterdam started having major problems with delayed or cancelled flights as well as people missing flights because line to checkin or security were so long that they came out of the airport.

Thankfully, by August, those issues had much improved. On checking in for our flight back to the USA on 24 August, it was pretty normal.

It may depend on what your flight situation is. Are you flying direct from your home airport to your Italy destination? I'm leaving in a couple of weeks but I have 3 flight segments - Spokane to Seattle, Seattle to Paris and Paris to Milan. Because I've got all those segments and changing in Paris, I'm doing carry on. I've always packed in a carry on size suitcase but checked it...this time...nope.

A friend flew Spokane to Nice on Tuesday and had her flight from Seattle to Paris delayed by 3 hours causing her to miss her flight to Nice. The airline rebooked her on a later flight to Nice that afternoon. Her checked luggage did not arrive with her yesterday but Delta/AF delivered it to her hotel this AM.

Are you able to do carry on only? What airlines are you on?

Which airports in particular are you worried about?

I'm flying direct from NY to Rome by Delta. I will be most likely checking in my luggage

Summer travel will have died down a bit in October and there are also no major holidays in either North America or Italy.

Anything can happen, of course, but it should be as good a month to travel as any

Your odds are as good as they can get that everything will go smoothly. Having a connection is when things tend to go awry. That said, you could still have a flight delay. If you check luggage, make sure you carry with you a change of clothes, some snacks, a refillable water bottle, a portable phone charger, any medications. Basically anything you would need if you were stranded overnight. Hopefully it doesn’t happen, but at least you’ll be prepared.

We were on a cruise Barcelona to Rome in July-Aug. We met several people on the cruise that had their luggage lost. Several were able to locate it but not able to get it to catch up with the ship despite the efforts of the ship staff and agents.
En route to Barcelona we flew through Frankfurt. On the flight to Barcelona the plane boarded late and then we sat on the tarmac for over an hour. The captain's announcement was they were waiting for baggage to be loaded. Ours bags made it. Flying home out of Rome our United flight was delayed 4 hours due to the late arrival of the aircraft. Our checked bags did make it home. Security inspection in Rome was extremely detailed and slow. Lines were long.

Although we hope things are better now we are flying to Italy next week via Heathrow and have decided to go carry on only. The combination of Heathrow's reputation and a fairly short connection just seems too risky for us.

Unless you have a direct flight to Italy I think it is moderatly risky to expect baggage to make a plane change in Europe. The problems there are staffing shortages. Cannot find new employees and get them through required background checks. Reports are that they do not really expect things to get better before next year. Good luck!

Since you do have a direct flight to Italy I'd say you've got a good chance of your bag making it. I agree with Aimee who said connections are when things tend to go sideways. Still, I'd pack essentials (meds, house keys, chargers) in your personal item.

Are you checking your flights frequently? I'm checking nearly daily just to make sure something hasn't changed.

You should be OK, but apple has a product that you can put in your luggage and track its location with your phone.