Tight Connection Rome Airport

Are you flying on one ticket from CTA to the U.S.?

1. If you are on one ticket with an Alitalia/Delta combination (Alitalia and Delta are code share partners) then when you check in in CTA you don't need to check in again in Rome and you don't need to go to T5. You will arrive at T1 and from there you transfer to T3 where the Delta flight departs from (T5 is not a real terminal, it's a check in processing building, there are no airplane at T5). The luggage will go through without need for retrieval. You will see your luggage at your first port of entry in the U.S.

2. If you are not on one ticket, for example if you fly a totally different airline like Meridiana, then you need to retrieve your luggage and go to T5 to check in with Delta.

In case no. 1 is true then 70 minutes are probably sufficient, bar any delays.
If no. 2 applies, then it's going to be tight.

Roberto has it exactly. I just did this exact fight connection and it didn't go well. On April 2 my flight out of Catania was 30 minutes late. The lady at Alitalia said "they will wait for you. There is no problem". Well while in the air they cancelled my connecting flight to JFK with out telling me. I ran to the flight and actually got there with 25 minutes before departure... but since they had cancelled my ticket Delta thought they had everyone and had already closed the door. I had to say an extra night in Rome at an airport hotel Alitalia had a connection with. It was a wasted day and you aren't allowed to get your checked bag so I didn't have deodorant or contact solution for the next day. They also ended up losing my bag for an extra 5 days and incorrectly issuing me a connecting flight from JFK to Seattle so I had to wait for an even later flight in JFK.

This is a long way of me recommending to have a longer connection because Alitalia is really bad at keeping flights on time and when they mess up connections they really mess it up.

Wow Kevin, I just have to comment on what a mess you had to deal with! So sorry to end a great trip. We have some significant lay overs going and coming and now I am confident that was the right choice. The one thing I have noticed this year with flight from SFO to and back from Rome you have two choices either such a short time that it can't be possible or incredibly long four to five hours.

I'll emphasise two things from the Original Post - Group of 20 senior travelers.

The times, as indicated above, are very tight, for one able bodied person who can run to the next flight and get there without much/any time.

I don't know your group of 20 senior travelers, but if they are like other groups I have known there may be one or two in the group who move a bit slower than the rest, and there may be one or two who would prefer to use the facilities at the airport than on the plane(s). In either event it may make a tight - very tight - connection that bit more problematic.

Last May we flew in and out of Catania on Alitalia. When we arrived our plane was the only plane to land at that time and we waited an hour for our luggage to be removed from the airplane. When we left a week later our flight was delayed for over an hour. Good luck and make sure you pack your sense of humor.

Buon viaggio,