What are the concerns re: departing from VCE for transatlantic flight?

We just checked in for our flight home from Venice to Atlanta (direct) tomorrow at 11 am. We plan to arrive at the airport 3 hours before flight time just to be sure, but there do not appear to be any particular issues so far. I will let you know if we experience any difficulties (beyond just normal travel/airline hassle).

I took an 11:00 a.m. flight from VCE - no hassles. Did allow 3 hours, but that's standard for an international flight. Got to the airport on the #5 bus.

The main issue relates to early morning flights and travel from Venice proper to the airport. Many VCE departures are to somewhere else in Europe to connect to the US. These flights leave as early as 6 AM. In order to catch those flights, you have to leave your hotel at an ungodly hour. We had an 11:35 AM flight from VCE to PHL in May. We left our hotel at 8:30 and walked to Piazzale Roma (15 minutes) and took a taxi to the airport (25 minutes). We arrived around 9:10 and had plenty of time to get our boarding passes and through security.

At one time there were no direct flights from Venice so you had to depart very early to catch the connection flight back to the US. There is no particular issue with the airport just the timing of departing flights.

Thanks to all! I agree, a very early morning international flight from anywhere would be difficult. Glad to hear that timing is the concern.....hope to nail down our itinerary before airline tix are released in October! Ha. My husband has learned to smile and nod, and let him know when the flights have been secured! Smart man! :)

...international flight from anywhere would be difficult...
But not impossible. I had a 7:00 AM VCE departure connecting through CDG back to the states. Hotel was a Smart Hotel somewhere in the outskirts of Venice where we would need taxis to get our group of some 35 or 40 skiers with ski bags to the airport. The hotel advised us that we could NOT pre-order taxis the night before and started calling for taxis at 4:00 AM. We somehow got three passengers, luggage and skis in each taxi and all made it to the airport by about 5:00 AM for our 7:00 AM departure.

PS Big line at the automatic boarding pass check in machines. If you could pre-print boarding passes and didn't need to check gear it would reduce your time demands.

From what I can find direct flights available from VCE to North America serving Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York and Toronto. If one of these is your home port then I think it makes perfect sense.

Our experience so far at Venice Airport: we took a water taxi that picked us up at 7:30am just outside the door of our Dosodoro apartment. Since we were traveling as a family of 4 and had to be at the airport by 8am (the recommended 3 hours before the departure), the water taxi made sense (the Alilaguna boats are cheaper but take a very long time). We walked into the airport terminal at 7:55. Very short line to check in and security (no more than 10 minutes. We are now happily settled in the terminal with a cappuccino and free wifi. Delightful.

Janet, thank you for the update! Sounds great....just sorry you are leaving! By the time you read this, you will be back in the US! :)
Please post a trip report!
Safe travels!

To summarize:::the only issue with flights from VCE is getting to the airport. Most people are used to Taking train or shuttle to the airport elsewhere in Europe, and confused or uncomfortable with the water transport options for Venice.

The airport itself is pretty small and easy to navigate.

For a connection to SFO through AMS the only choice was a flight out of VCE with 5 a.m. check-in time so stayed in a nearby hotel with shuttle (the name Titian sounds familiar) and got to the airport before counters opened.