I am wondering if it's realistic to fly from Rome FCO to Palermo the same day we are arriving at FCO? Our plane is due to arrive in Rome at 10:45 am. ITA Air looks like they have numerous flights out of FCO on that day so I was thinking instead of spending the night in Rome we could go straight to Palermo and arrive a day before our tour begins.
Thank you!!
Susan
Realistic? Sure, but not without risk. Obviously the best option is to book all on one ticket, utilizing an airlines partners to get there, but maybe too late for that (If your airline and ticket class allows changes, I would at least check with them first).
Otherwise the calculation is how much time to allow between landing and your next flight. Will your flight be on time, how much time to get through immigration, will you have checked bags (requires exiting, getting bags, re-checking bags, back through security), how far is the next terminal?
Most of the time, doing this means leaving a healthy buffer (3, 4, 5 hours?), likely sitting in an airport after a long flight for most of those hours, and of course the risk that things do not go right, meaning your ticket is mostly useless and stuck coming up with plan B.
If you decide it is worth the risk, know what your options are, maybe spring for a more expensive ticket class from Rome to Palermo, one that might allow a change or later flight, or at least a refund.
We are arriving at FCO at 12:00 and flying to Palermo at 6:00 on Ryanair. We have had no problems in the past flying on a budget airline out of a major centre.
ITA has numerous flights to Palermo each day, and fares in advance are reasonable. I would determine a reasonable buffer and go for it. You might consider one way tickets to/from Palermo as a hedge, so if in a worst case you missed the first flight, the return to FCO would still br valid.
I would look at the on-time performance of your arriving flight on FlightAware or similar - that could give you a comfort level - or not.
Getting to/from Rome from FCO isn't fun, plus the needless hassle of checking in to a hotel, unpacking/repacking, etc.
But inquiring whether you could change your incoming flight could be worthwhile.
In 2022 we arrived to FCO from the USA in the AM, then flew ITA to Catania a couple of hours later…no problem. Should be the same to Palermo.
I did that connection - US to Rome to Palermo - this spring. The tickets were not connected, but on ITA I purchased an inexpensive advance ticket that allowed me to change departure times if necessary. As it turned out, I cooled my heels at FCO, ate a leisurely lunch, and easily made it to Palermo that afternoon. Of course, there's always some luck involved in flight connections.
