Transfer at Rome Fiumicino Airport
At Fiumicino you will find two terminals (1 and 3), which are connected in a single building, and you can move between them inside the public and transit section.
- Terminal 1 - gates A
- Terminals 3 and 5 - gates E
Book a hotel near Fiumicino Airport
For selected long-haul flights (mainly to the USA), there is also a satellite terminal 5, which is only accessible to passengers. All flights departing from it are checked in at Terminal 3, and after passing through security you can take advantage of the free automatic train that will take you to T5 in 3 minutes.
Downloadable airport maps are available on the official website: www.adr.it
The airport is open 24 hours a day.
Airlines by terminal
At Fiumicino Airport, terminals are always designated for specific airlines. The division between Schengen and non-Schengen flights always takes place after the security checkpoint at each terminal.
- Terminal 1 - Aegean Airlines, Aeroitalia, Air Baltic, Air Europa, Air France, Air Malta, Ablastar, Eurowings, Iberia, ITA Airways, KLM, Luxair, Norwegian, Ryanair, TAP Portugal, Volotea, Vueling and Wizz Air
- Terminal 3 - all other airlines
- Terminal 5 - check-in always takes place at Terminal 3, and flights to the USA and Israel operated by non-European airlines fly from the satellite Terminal 5 (for example, flights to the USA with ITA Airways are handled classically from Terminal 1)
Transfer between flights
Connecting flights at Fiumicino Airport are clearly signposted with "Connecting Flights" signs and there are departure boards with the gate numbers of connecting flights in many places within the terminals.
If you need to move between terminals, there is no need to leave the transit area and the net transfer time between the furthest gates is approximately 30 minutes.
If you are connecting between flights to/from Schengen area countries or domestic flights within Italy, you do not go through security or passport control.
When transferring from Schengen countries to non-Schengen countries, you only go through passport control.
When connecting from Non-Schengen countries to all destinations, you must go through both security and passport control.
Fiumicino Airport is a major hub with many long-haul routes and it can often happen that the best value tickets will include a night change, but under no circumstances will this be covered by the airline.
Hotels near the terminal
There are two more luxurious hotels right at the airport with prices starting from 165 eur per night. However, they are within a 3-minute walk of the terminal.
Hotels in Fiumicino
The cheapest hotels are in Fiumicino, about 3 km from the airport.
The vast majority of them only offer chargeable transport (usually around 15 eur), but you can use the Cotral bus service for 1,10 eur, see more in the Transport section above.
Just beware that the last bus from the airport leaves at 21:00. Prices per night are between 90 eur and 150 eur. A taxi, despite the short distance, works out at about €20, so always calculate well whether you can get to your hotel by bus or whether it is more worthwhile to stay further away in Rome but with good public transport access.
If you're arriving late in the evening and don't want to pay for a taxi or expensive hotel transfer, consider staying right in Rome, which is always accessible by bus even late at night/early in the morning. However, you will need to allow about an hour for the journey.
Any questions left?
If you have any questions or comments about the article...
4 comments
Hi krystof, thanks for such a wonderful insight regarding the terminal change. I would be coming from India with Schengen visa and would be going to Venice first via rome. I would be arriving by terminal t3 and my connecting flight would be from terminal 1 with around 1 hour lay over time, would I have to go through only passport control or both passport and security check. Both the flights are from same airlines ITA and both boarding passes would be issued in the beginning in New Delhi. Kindly enlighten, thanks
Hey. Hey. Yes, they go through passport and security checks. But if both flights are booked on the same reservation, the transfer is guaranteed. This means that if you miss your flight to Venice, ITA Airways will rebook you on the next available flight for free, of which there are many between Rome and Venice.
Thanks a lot for your reply
it is really a relief knowing all this now
Good morning, Krystof. Thank you for your reply. I thought that access was restricted to passengers boarding at Terminal 3. I'm glad I'll be able to go shopping at Terminal 3!
My ITA Airways flight is scheduled for terminal 1, but I'd like to do some shopping in terminal 3 before boarding. Can I move between terminals 1 and 3 or can I only stay in terminal 1?
The terminals are connected in the transit zone in one building, so it is possible to move between them.
I have a flight from Cairo to Buenos Aires on ITA Airlines, stopping at Rome Fiumicino Airport for 6 hours. The flight is connected, not separate. Do I need a transit visa because I will arrive at Terminal 3 and the other flight is at Terminal 1?
Terminals 1 and 3 are also connected via the transit zone, so there is no need to go through immigration control and therefore no need for a transit visa.
Good , I arrived from Seville to FCO with Rayanair at 19:55 and at 21:25 I have a flight FCO to Krakow with. Wizz Air. I will only take hand luggage. Do I have to exit arrivals, go to departures and go through security again? Or can I go directly to my next flight without having to leave the terminal and go through security again? I am a Spanish citizen of the European Union. Thank you very much
You can go directly to the next flight if you have also checked in online for the flight from Rome to Krakow.
I will be able to check-in online up to 24 hours before. So I understand that when I land at FCO I would arrive at the transit area without going through border controls and then from there I could go to my new boarding gate without having to leave arrivals, go to departures and go through the security control again, no? I am sorry to be a pain but I just want to confirm it as I will not have my time and I want to have clear ideas. Thank you very much Krystof
Yes, that's right. If you don't have checked baggage and you have a boarding pass, you don't need to leave the transit area.
It has been a great help to me. Thank you very much