The new Italian airline ITA Airways, which replaced in late 2021 the defunct Alitalia, announced a change in operations in its main hub of Rome Fiumicino airport (FCO). Let’s look a little more in detail what the news is all about.
ITA Airways Moves Operations to Terminal 1 of Rome Fiumicino Airport
All flights operated by the new Italian carrier will from now on operate out of the T1 terminal in Rome Fiumicino airport. If you’re not up to speed with what has been going in Italy’s biggest airport, heavy renovations have taken place.
In the past 5 years FCO (Fiumicino) has changed drastically. A whole new gates section of the airport has opened which is more roomy and welcoming. Also the security checks areas have been significantly updated, along with work being done in Terminal 1 itself.
Before the operational change ITA Airways would operate most of its domestic and European routes out of T1. Most long haul flights to South America, Asia and North America instead would fly out of T3 or T5.
Now all flights will have checkin operations take place in the airport’s T1 terminal.
What is The Reason For The Change?
The reason is mainly related to passenger experience. Moving all flights to the same terminal means the airline can offer a more consistent experience to all passenger travelling to all destinations on its network.
Previously US bound flights in particular had to go through the quite isolated and not very welcoming Terminal 5. This terminal could be reached only via shuttle bus.
The introduction of dedicated security and US custom compliant screening in Terminal 1 means that not so pleasant experience is a thing of the past.
I myself flew out out of T1 just a few months ago and I must say it was a nice experience. Going through the security checks was fast and stress free, even though I was travelling with my cat Coco.
