Rome Airport - FCO-Terminal 5 - question

Terminal 5 is not a fight terminal. No flights arrive or leave from T 5. It is only used to process passengers going direct to US and I think Israel. It depends on time of day but T5 can be lengthy. Your nearly three hours should be enough.

Frank, I realize that my actual gate will be E39, referred to people as T5, I will be arriving from Catania at 7:35 am T3 or T1...do all the little domestic flights all land out on the tamarc and have to be bused into the gate like Ryan Air and Ilitalia? I basically have 3 hours but if I have to do all the bus time from the tarmac into the terminal upon arrival then go outside and grab another bus to take me to T5 for my US flight home, I'm not going to have a complete 3 hours to use to go through T5.

I am a little confused by your question, sorry if this info is not what you need.

For your flight back from FCO, you begin at T5, (A shuttle bus will take you to your departure terminal.) If necessary, you will be bussed from your gate to the aircraft, or there may be a jetway at the gate for boarding.

I always check-in online and print out a boarding pass (hotels or internet spots can do this); three hours should be enough time.

I was at FCO in August. I don't think you will go through T5 for your arrival flight (at least I don't recall doing that).

Everyone is throwing a little confusion into the discussion. Keep this simple --

1. Terminal 5 is used to checkin for US direct flights and final TSA type security check. THERE ARE NO ARRIVING or DEPARTING FLIGHT GATES in T-5. You may have "checked in" on line with American but doubt if you will actually have a board pass. If you have a board pass then you can go directly to your gate in Terminal 3 after you land. The E39 probably is your check in desk/station. T-5 is a large area. You will also go through immigration exit control in T-5.

2. When you land in Terminal 3, you walk to the front, ground level, turn right to a well marked bus stop/waiting area for Terminal 5. A shuttle bus take you to Terminal 5. A very short ride, less than two minutes. After check-in/security in Terminal 5, another shuttle bus will take you to Terminal 3 for your departing flight. You are now behind security and stay that way.

3. I doubt if you will deplane on the tarmac. I am not aware of any domestic flights doing that and have not done so with our several trips through the airport. However, after the recent fire last year some planes were deplaning on the tarmac because of gate damage. I thought that had all been fixed but it could still be a possibility. That shouldn't slow you down significantly. If there is a hangup, it will be Terminal 5. That is a popular time for planes to the US.

I went through T5 just over a week ago. There were no significant changes from before, and it was much less busy than in high season. American moved the initial screening from the entry room to the area near the check-in counter lines, but there was an airline representative directing passengers to the alternate screening location. Three hours between flights should be plenty of time to make the connection. Risks are that your arriving flight is late or that March is a lot busier than November.

Frank, you have been so kind with your responses. I have asked questions on TripAdvisor and had a variety of responses and one person was down right nasty with his reply (you don't have enough time!!!!!) I have decided not to gamble and play it safe at this point. Ryan Air will allow me to change my flight, I'm going to fly the day before and spend a night close to the airport. At this point it's a separate ticket for just a one-way flight and rather than gamble with Murphy's Law of Probability (if crap can happen, it will) I'll play it safe so not to put my ticket on American back to the US in jeopardy...why gamble. Unfortunately I will be leaving my daughter, son-in-law and grandson to stay in Catania and fly out the next day as planned...they are not returning to the US but rather to a different destination from Rome. By the way, I noticed you live in CO...I used to live in Loveland. Thank you so much, I know I could probably make my current flight work, but just not going to gamble on it.

That is smart because having two independent tickets close together always has some risk. The difficult with T-5 is that it implies gates for planes like T-1 and T-3. You probably have enough time but your margin is small. And the problem with discount airlines like Ryan is that they don't have back up equipment or the ability to respond to problems quickly.

Your reference to having a boarding pass would suggest that you do not have to go through T-5 since you have a boarding pass. Our experience is only with Delta (and code shared with Italia) and United. In both cases we could check in on line but unable to print a boarding pass so we still had to go through checkin and immigration control in T-5.

I totally agree with a cautious attitude with Ryan Air, have see some delayed flights. I'll change my reservation and not worry. My flight home is a code share, the flight is actually a Finn Air being operated by American. My whole flight there to Rome and back is a code share...I leave Dallas on American to London, jump on British Airways to Rome, and Ryan Air back and forth to Sicily, then Finn Air to Philly and then back on American to Dallas. I guess you would say a smorgasbord of airlines. Than you and everyone for the wonderful comments. I have an inkling of what is to come at FCO.....

NEW INFORMATION about TERMINAL 5 in Rome. 6/3/2017

I traveled from Rome yesterday 6/3/2017 on United to EWR. I had read all the info about Terminal 5 on R.S... and on Travel Advisory. It apparently is ALL old info or total BS. Before going to the airport, I made 2 separate calls to United in the U.S. Each call confirmed that ALL United flights to the U.S. arrived and departed from Terminal 3 and security was handled at Terminal 3 also. I then had my hotel call United Office in Rome and they also confirmed that all United flights to the US arrived and departed from Terminal 3 ... including the security check.

Being cautious, I arrived at the airport 3 hours early ... and was through check-in, security, passport control... and at my gate in less that 15 minutes (Granted I was on United's first flight of the day ... and I was about 4th in line).

Someone needs to remove all this outdated scare-tactic info about Terminal 5 on R.S and on Travel Advisory.

Morris Gill, Los Angeles

Moris Gill, I was the person who originally posted my concerns about Term 5, etc. back in 2016 and as I too ended up flying to Rome this past March 2017 found out that FCO had rearranged fights and terminals so that all US passengers no longer departed through T5...I too flew out of T3...so yes, things have changed and a lot of the info regarding FCO on this site is old. And like you, I sure didn't need 3 hours to go through security and check-in. But, it's always better to be early ...just in case.

... It apparently is ALL old info or total BS. .....

Check the dates. It is not BS but it is old information. T-3 was always used for arrival and departure. Still is. Since the original question and responses T-5 has been closed for remodeling. The information about T-5 is correct but it is currently not being used for check in and screening. That was its sole function earlier. No one ever departed or boarding a plane at T-5. The assumption is that once the renovations are completed it will return to it is original usage. That is one of the reason you always check the dates of the postings. Things change !! It is not a scary tactic. The information was accurate at the time it was posted. And these change were frequently described in more recent postings about the airport.