Fire at Rome's airport

What alternatives???? Ask the airline to move the flight to Naples?

There is a longer and more accurate discussion running under Italy at

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/fire-at-fco-terminal-3

mph, many flights have been cancelled. I've been in a similar situation a few times, and it was WAAAAY better for me to be proactive and change my flight the day before departure than to just let them do whatever with my reservation. I was able to arrive in a city of MY choosing, and with no time lost. Look for alternatives, indeed.

It looks like this fire - as bad as the photos look! - may not impact the airport's schedule as much as I first expected. But, it's Italy ;-) Time will tell...

BTW, I posted a link to Ron in Rome's fabulous website, specifically his page on departing from Terminal 5 (as all US-flagged airlines to the US will do), on the above-mentioned thread started by Frank under the 'Italy' heading.

As in other emergency situations, travelers most likely to be displaced are those needing services at the affected airport on the day of or day after the emergency. If I were affected I would probably worry a lot then try to reschedule my flight.

NBC reported the fire at 5:45pm May 7.

What does "But it's Italy!" mean?

I can understand if such criticism came from the Germans or even the French, but not from someone who lives in a place where the example of high speed trains is provided by Amtrak or where you are asked to show up at the airport at least 3 hours before departure.

If my flight to Rome is diverted to Naples, I can make my way to destination by train with just a little delay. But if your flight to LAX is diverted to Fresno, good luck!

Sorry, Roberto, but you're comparing apples to oranges.

Italy is approximately the size of Arizona in square miles. All of western Europe could fit in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River.

It would take a half a day to go from one end of Italy to the other and that's top to bottom. It would take three days by train in the U.S. to go east to west or vice-versa. Taking a train between New York and Los Angeles would be like taking a train from London to Naples and then back to London. We are an economy based on cars and airplanes. Too inefficient to use trains.

If your flight was diverted to Fresno, you could get on another to one of the five airports serving the Los Angeles area. And your airline would be responsible for getting you to LAX.

In the U.S., if your flight is diverted to another airport, the airline can't just leave you there. They must provide alternate transportation to the original arriving airport. So, you wouldn't be stuck in Fresno, you'd just wait for another plane if the diversion wasn't due to weather or for charter buses.

The one area where trains are efficient in the U.S., the northeast corridor between Washington, DC and Boston, Amtrak gives you a choice of regular regional trains or high speed Acela--almost hourly. An Acela train would take, with stops in about 6 hours and 40 minutes. That's the approximate distance of Milan to Naples. But for that distance, Washington DC to Boston, it would be easier, and faster, to fly.

And I don't know where you fly out of, but in North America I've never been told to show up three hours before a flight except, perhaps, on a busy holiday weekend. I have always been told to show up three hours before a flight in, well, Europe. (And other parts of the world.)

While I understand your taking umbrage over the remark made about Italians, it would be best to have pointed it out rather than try to make an equally snide remark about the U.S.

"In the U.S., if your flight is diverted to another airport, the airline can't just leave you there. They must provide alternate transportation to the original arriving airport. "

I realize this does not directly relate to the original post, but in my experience the above statement is not correct in regard to Delta/Sky West flights. My direct experience was last Dec with serial flights and cancellations from SLC to LWS where there was fog. The mid-day flight got to LWS circled and went back due to fog. The next flight at around 10PM we were told if the flight could not land again due to fog we would be diverted to Spokane WA (90 miles away) and would need to find our own way to LWS. This was made very plain at the gate to all passengers gathered around as well as being made plain again by the flight attendant before the door was shut. In actuality, the plane did not land either place, but the pilot diverted back to SLC, again.

It was an interesting group dynamic before we boarded as the 40 or so folks set to fly buddied up to organize car rentals and to get everyone back to LWS. I was surprised that it looked like no one was going to be left to rent a car on their own and that all passengers seemed to be looking out for others, with no help from the airline. Kinda made me proud to be from Idaho!

I'll bet if people didn't want to take the chance of being stuck in Spokane, and didn't want to take that second flight, the airline would have put them on a flight the next day. Since they told you ahead of time the consequences of what would happen if you took the second flight and had to divert, then you agreed to limitations ahead of time and the airline would not be responsible. (If the delay is due to weather, the airline is not responsible for getting you accomodations in the U.S. In Europe, they are.)

However, if that first flight didn't return to SLC but diverted to Spokane, they couldn't have just left you there.

Roberto,

Heaven Is Where:

The French are the chefs
The Italians are the lovers
The British are the police
The Germans are the mechanics
And the Swiss make everything run on time

Hell is Where:

The British are the chefs
The Swiss are the lovers
The French are the mechanics
The Germans are the police
And the Italians make everything run on time

But Robero, I understand your criticism. Unfortunately, this country is the only one where conservatives outnumber rats. That explains a lot.

Wish someone would give some current information about what is going on in Rome at the airport! It is near impossible to find any current updates. So if anyone has heard any recent news about operations please post for those of us who are heading that way in the next few days.

Judy,

I believe the other thread linked above had some comments from Zoe who was IN Rome. According to the news I've seen this morning, T3 is slowing beginning to get back to some semblance of "normal". It will take awhile for the fire damage to be repaired, but some of the check-in counters and baggage facilities seem to be back in operation.

Thanks Ken,
I have been reading the other thread. We fly to Frankfurt and have a connection on Lufthansa to Rome. I just have see nothing on any other carriers except Alitalia. Not sure what Terminal Lufthansa comes into. We check in all the way through on a United ticket.

Judy, I started a thread on this in the Italy forum.

Grazie, Roberto, for defending the honor of la patria. That "But it's Italy" comment is annoying, sometimes offensive.