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Transportation Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO): no more Terminal 5?

Andrew

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I saw a note on FlyerTalk and also see it at www.adr.it . The maps no longer show the remote Terminal 5 for check-in of U.S. and Israeli carriers. Delta checks in at T1 with Alitalia; the others and El Al use T3. For Delta it makes a long way from check-in to the gates.

It appears that Delta and Alitalia's transatlantic arrivals still have baggage claim at T3.
 
I saw this, too. We are flying Delta from Detroit to FCO and back in September/October. On previous trips flying Delta to FCO, we have checked in at Terminal 5 and have taken the shuttle to Terminal 3 for our flight home. Do you think it will be more difficult/time consuming now to check in and walk from Terminal 1 to our gate in Terminal 3 versus checking in at Terminal 5 and taking the shuttle? Or will we have to take a shuttle between T1 and T3 like we did between 5 and 3 previously? I never liked Terminal 5 - I thought it was a very odd, empty place. But I may find that checking in at T5 was easier than T1 simply because it was less crowded.
Our friends are flying United - they check in at Terminal 3 to fly home which seems so much more convenient.
We are meeting up with these friends upon arrival to drive to our rental near Siena. Fortunately both their United flight and our Delta flight land at the same Terminal. We arrive within 90 minutes of each other at T3.
 
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Our friends are flying United - they check in at Terminal 3 to fly home which seems so much more convenient.

We always fly United and we shuttle to T5 and then back to T3. I've scanned a few sites carrying check-in info for direct flights with US carriers and these sites all continue to specify check-in at T5. I'd be interested in the source of your friend's information -- would be good to know for sure before we go.
 
Gosh, Alpinista...now I am not sure where I heard this. For some reason, I am sure I heard that, as of late last year, Delta passengers returning to the US no longer check in at T5 - it is now T1. We have always had to go thru T5 in the past and then shuttle to T3 for our gate...but we have usually flown on Delta. And I have no memory of where I heard about the United check-in. Let me research a little...I do not want to give incorrect information.
 
Just found this, too:
All of the airlines that used to have their check-in for flights to the US and Israel at T5 have moved their operations back to the main terminals. The move started in February with Delta and all of the others have now completed their relocation and T5 is no longer in use. As of now:

American: check in at T3

Delta: check in at T1

El Al: check in at T3

United: check in at T3

The same high security is in place at the new locations, so three hours prior to flight is still recommended, especially as the new processes settle into place.
 
As well as looking at the ADR site to see the terminal marked for those airlines' flights today.

I quibble with people who refer to "shuttling to T3 for our gate": the numbered terminals are the landside areas with check-in and baggage claim, while the airside gates are in the lettered concourses and don't belong to a single terminal. Most departures for the U.S. are from the satellite that used to be the G gates and are now one section of the E gates and can be accessed from any of the check-in terminals.
Or will we have to take a shuttle between T1 and T3 like we did between 5 and 3 previously?
If your Delta flight is from that satellite, I think it will be a long walk (possibly with some moving sidewalks) until you get the People Mover train to that satellite.
 
Thank you very much for doing the research and providing information -- always good to have one less hoop to go through when trying to come home.
 
Thank you very much for doing the research and providing information -- always good to have one less hoop to go through when trying to come home.
Sounds like checking in to fly home on United might be a little easier than in the past. Not so much for our flight home on Delta - I wish we checked in at T3, too. Oh, well...
 
I hope it's gotten more efficient than it was before there was a T5. I had one time when the check-in line split into a fork and was confusing, then forever to clear security and exit passport control: at the airport 2.5 hours early, I barely made the flight.
 
Two years ago, we got off the shuttle bus at T5 to find a very long line just to get into the terminal door. We began staying at the FCO Hilton a number of years ago on our getaway night to reduce some of the departure turmoil, but the trek to T3 and then to the shuttle to T5 to another shuttle back to T3 was always a test of patience. With the advent of Polaris service on United and improvements at FCO, the arrival/departure parts of the trips might even turn out to be fun (OK, so I'm getting delusional, but we can always hope).
 
Oh, you are a positive person thinking it might be a better experience!
I have had a cab drop us at T5 from our apartment in Rome several times and, on our last trip, the Airport Hilton Garden Inn shuttle dropped us off there. We never had to go to T3 first...we always directly went to T5, checked in, and then took the shuttle to our gate near T3. I think we must have been fortunate - there were never any terribly long lines that I remember. But I thought T5 was an eerie, strange building. I will look forward to see what others' experiences are now...especially those flying Delta checking into T1 and your United flight checking right into T3. I envy you not having to shuttle between terminals!
 
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So what will happen to T5? Is it being torn down? I thought it was a fairly new addition, but the fire might have given them an excuse to renovate.
I am not sure what they will do with it. I thought I read that it was originally an old airplane hangar. I thought that made sense as it kind of looked like an airplane hangar to me.
 
One search of recent news shows a Fiumicino city council meeting (allowing for a wide audience) about the future of Alitalia was held at Terminal 5.
 
OK, did the new check-in route this morning. As reported the shuttle from T3 to T5 and then back again is no more (will pause here for a little dance of joy). We had a United flight and did have to walk the entire length of the terminal to the check-in desk after arriving at the terminal from the airport Hilton via the moving walkways (at least the 3 that were working out of the 5 total along the way). We then walked back the entire length to get from check-in to security -- followed by another extremely long walk to get to gate E41 (as you would guess, the furthest possible gate from security). Despite this, it was a heck of a lot better than lugging suitcases onto the shuttle bus and then being herded back onto another shuttle after check-in. We had premium access to check-in and were at the terminal at 8:15 AM on a Monday, all of which probably had an effect, but there was absolutely no line for security processing and about a 10 minute line to get through passport control. We were sitting in the lounge by 9:00 even with all the walking after we got into the terminal.
 
So, when I flew out of FCO June 1, I was told that Termial 5 was closed for reconstruction. That could mean anything but mostly it means that all flights will be in/out of 1,2,3....indefinitely. I did notice the shuttle signs were all covered up. And it was difficult to get information about where to get my AA flight. I finally found it after walking the length of the terminals....A makeshift set up for check-in, no apologies, as usual! Got love it; no use being irked by it.

Ciao,
Cheryl
www.italianexcursion.com
 
OK, did the new check-in route this morning. As reported the shuttle from T3 to T5 and then back again is no more (will pause here for a little dance of joy). We had a United flight and did have to walk the entire length of the terminal to the check-in desk after arriving at the terminal from the airport Hilton via the moving walkways (at least the 3 that were working out of the 5 total along the way). We then walked back the entire length to get from check-in to security -- followed by another extremely long walk to get to gate E41 (as you would guess, the furthest possible gate from security). Despite this, it was a heck of a lot better than lugging suitcases onto the shuttle bus and then being herded back onto another shuttle after check-in. We had premium access to check-in and were at the terminal at 8:15 AM on a Monday, all of which probably had an effect, but there was absolutely no line for security processing and about a 10 minute line to get through passport control. We were sitting in the lounge by 9:00 even with all the walking after we got into the terminal.
I still do not understand why you used to first go to T3, shuttle to T5, and then shuttle back to T3 again. We never did that. We always went directly to T5, checked in and went through security there, and only then had to take the shuttle to get to our gate. We were only ever on the shuttle one time. We have flown both Delta and United in the past.
This Fall we are flying Delta, so we check in at T1. Hoping this saves a little time, but I am sure we will be doing a lot of walking.
 
We always spent our last night at the FCO Hilton and our choices were to shuttle from T3 on our own schedule or to wait for a hotel shuttle on their schedule. The shuttle from T3 to T5 was always full, so we weren't alone in needing to use that service.
 
We always spent our last night at the FCO Hilton and our choices were to shuttle from T3 on our own schedule or to wait for a hotel shuttle on their schedule. The shuttle from T3 to T5 was always full, so we weren't alone in needing to use that service.
Ah, I see. We have usually arrived at T5 from our apartment in Rome, although on our last visit we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn the night before our flight and their shuttle driver took us directly to T5. The shuttle driver was amazed at how many American visitors were not aware that they should just go directly to T5.
 

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