My family will be flying to Newark, via Frankfurt from Florence with a 640am departure time.
How large is Florence airport and how busy might we expect it to be in the very early AM hours? I am trying to gauge how much time I need to allow ourselves for security / immigration / bag check.
Thank you.
The Florence to Frankfurt flight is a 'domestic' flight. The emigration (passport processing) will occur in Frankfurt.
Thanks! So should we not worry about allowing too much time before boarding? I think that I read that it’s a relatively small airport, so I am wondering how crowded it may be and if there are a lot of flights going out so early.
Very similar flight time as yours
I’ve flown out off Florence many times and have noticed it getting busier over the years in the early mornings.
The check in desks don’t open 2 to 3 hours before flights at that time, as we are used to in N. America.
Last trip for me out of there was an 08:00 flight last September.
I got there at just after 6am.
There were hordes of people in my lineup for KLM/Delta and it was getting quite close to departure time before the line really started moving.
I’d get there about 90 minutes pre flight.
If you have carryon only, I believe there are kiosks so you don’t have to join a huge line.
I had a bag to check, hence lining up.
Taxis from the city only take 20 minutes at that time of day.
90 min prior to departure time will be plenty.
The airport opens at 4:00 but the check in desk will open only 2 hours prior to departure, first with one person only, then around 90 min prior on or more agents show up, but after sitting down they first need to turn on the computer, have a little chat with their colleagues on what they did the night before, and also put some make up on to look pretty. So the later you get there, the shortest the time in line for check in (lots of agents will show up and open their positions at about 60 min from departure). Fortunately the airport is very small and the security line short.
I can't speak about the timing, but I will never fly out of that airport again. Air France bumped us even though we had already checked in. Claimed the plane was too heavy due to wind. Then ended up bussing us to Bologne for another flight. Apparently this happens quite frequently there.
Sidebar: Air France is dead to me. They owe us 500E but claim they can't even find that reservation even though I sent them a photo of the receipt.
Surely that is not the airports' fault, but Air France's?
Have you applied for compensation under the EU Passenger's Rights Form?
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/index_en.htm
Air France bumped us even though we had already checked in. Claimed
the plane was too heavy due to wind. Then ended up bussing us to
Bologne for another flight. Apparently this happens quite frequently
there.
Yes. That happens whenever wind exceeds 10 knots.
FLR has a very short runway (5,100 feet) and due to the presence of a mountain on the northern end (Mt. Morello) airplanes can only land from the south and take off to the south. If there are tail winds exceeding 10 knots, the aircrafts can operate only with weight limitations (or not at all).
It almost happened to me last April (but the captain gave the ok to load the plane), and once in the 1990's (flight cancelled, this time due to fog, and rebooked from Bologna the next day).
That is a risk one runs using FLR. Obviously when it happens the airline will rebook you on the next available flight, but that might mean a full day delay if you intend to catch a connection at some other European airport. These delays are less common in summer, when winds in Florence are largely calm.
Unfortunately the new runway project (ready for years) is still stuck in the courts due to NIMBY's opposition to the project. They say work on a new modified project should start in 2024, but so they said in 2013, when they were supposed to be finished by 2017 before they took the case to court.
Just a quick thank you to all who commented. The information everyone provided was a huge help and we were able to arrive at the airport 90 min before departure / and as someone commented below, there was still plenty of time sitting around the airport before boarding. Safe and happy travels to all who are departing soon.
