Rome Ciampino Airport

After flying to/from Ciampino I can say that the only pleasant experience there was the courtesy of airport ground staff. Check in was quick as well as passing the security control. On the other hand If your flight is delayed (like mine was) there is not much to do there. Lack of lounges seats waiting areas bar/resturant facilities as well as shops is the biggest problem for this small and super crowded airport. As far as I am concerned it is much better to pay more and avoid Ciampino at all costs.

I was pleasantly surprised the airport toilets were extremely clean and we waited no more than 10 minutes for our luggage to come through. Out of the airport we had intended to get a taxi having read all of the awful comments about the Terravision bus but spotted the Bus Shuttle service only 1eur cheaper each way than Terravision but no queue and extremely efficient as we could not face the local bus and the train. The return journey again we caught the Bus Shuttle no queues straight on very efficient. The airport queues were the longest for our flight home it seemed like all of the planes were departing at the same time!! The departure lounge was mayhem and we waited for over an hour for our plane to board but in all not nearly as bad as I had anticipated.

My advice is to avoid this airport at all costs - although I am sure this will not be practical for everyone. But an extra hour's drive to an airport that uses Fiumicino would certainly be worth it. There are no business facilities such as lounges and there are not even enough seats for half the passengers which means the place looks like a refugee transit camp with bodies spread across the floors. It is possible to get a sandwich and a drink but that's about it - although it might be useful place to buy an expensive Italian leather handbag. I was not impressed!

Terra-vision shuttle service - after arriving at Ciampino airport we sat on the bus for 30 minutes while two girls checked everyone's tickets. Coming back we were told to wait at the Via Marsala stop at 7.50 (our flight was at 11.05 to Luton) When we got there at 7.30 am there were already about 100 people waiting. A bus came and took about 75 we then had to wait another 35 minutes for the next bus. By this time another 100 people had joined the queue. Everyone had been told to get to the stop for 7.50. We were on time for our check-in but travellers need to be aware that about 300 people are being told to be at the bus stop at the same time.

I think Rome Ciampino has recently had some work done on it as the toilets looked new the departure lounges likewise (and there ARE some shops/bars airside although not many but you can get a reasonable sandwich and a beer) and it was quite quick to get through both ways with no queues (I had no baggage however) so not bad for a small airport. The problem however is still with the public transport links with Rome. I avoided paying the Terravison coach shuttle fare of EURO14 by using the local transport system. If you want to do likewise then here's how to do it but bear in mind the caveats. As you come out of arrivals turn LEFT exit the terminal doors and there is a bus stop straight in front of you (with a coach or bus probably waiting). This will either be a COTRAL or SCHIAFFANI bus/coach. The fare is EURO1 and you need to be heading for ANAGNINA METRO Station (which will be on the LED display on the front of the bus). This bus does go around the houses picking up and dropping off locals on the way. What they could really do with is a bus that just goes between airport and metro with no stops in between. In off-peak hours allow 30 minutes for this bus journey in peak hours allow 55 minutes. When you get to ANAGNINA station go down the steps into the subway following the red'M' signs just as you emerge into an open square (there's an old blue tram on display in the middle of it) look to your left and you'll see a tobacconist's booth where you can buy your Bigliette (ticket) - you can either get a single journey ticket for EURO1 or an all-day ticket for EURO4 (which you can use on METRO or COTRAL buses all day but NOT the SCHIAFFINI coach so save 1 euro for your journey back!). Once you have your ticket turn to the left and follow the red 'M' signs for the metro trains. COMING BACK to Ciampino Airport head back for Anagnina Metro Station. Once out of the metro exit note that the departure platform for the buses back to the airport are over the other side of the metro station to the one you arrived at. So this time walk past the blue antique tram following the signs for COTRAL/SHIAFFINI PARTENEZ (departures) and go up platform 1 on your left. I had to wait 20 minutes so factor in that sort of wait for the bus. The LED on the front will say CIAMPINO AIRPORT (again it is EURO1) and it will drop you off where you caught it when you arrived. Total Journey time you should allow for to Rome Termini Metro Station (including waiting) should be about 1hr 10 minutes. In peak hours this can go up to 2hrs. I got to the check-in desk with 8 minutes to spare as I hadn't catered for a slower metro during rush hours a 20 minute wait for the bus at ANAGNINA and then rush hour traffic - so be warned!!

Ciampino airport until recent years was a military airport and not built for todays air traffic. The problem isn't the airport but the transfer to and from Rome. I have never had problems using the airport but perhaps because I travel easyjet or Ryanair pick up the car and then as an alternative to Rome city centre noisy busy and expensive I choose to stay in places with easy access to Rome by rail for example Tivoli or Fiuggi.

I must echo the comments of Martin Leigh Oct 2005 Paul Baldwin Aug 2005 and Ken Steel July 2005. Although their posts were in 2005 I was unfortunate to be at this Airport in June 2006 and nothing seems to have improved. Some construction work is ongoing but a lot of the current problems could be fixed by better management and improved use of existing resources. The toilet facilities are in a terrible state and have been for months (at least a year to my own knowledge). All the urinals have been removed and the cubicles have smashed locks and are covered in graffiti. The place stinks and is disgusting. The restaurant has a policy of allowing only those purchasing food to sit in the restaurant area. At first sight this seems reasonable except that there is very little seating apart from that in the restaurant. So if you want a seat you now have to buy an overpriced substandard meal. The facilities for passengers that are airside are almost non-existent with little seating and no sense of organisation. After passing through into the gate area the feeling of being treated little better than an animal or maybe freight is total. This airport was very good 5 years ago but is now just totally overpriced and badly run. I would have thought that given the amount of custom that Ryanair give this small airport that they could influence then to improve the customer care on the ground. Of course given the ‘customer care’ attitude of Ryanair maybe they already have.

The airport is located southwest of Rome. Despite the increase in passenger traffic the single runway remains sufficient to handle traffic without delays. The passenger terminals are basic but there really aren't too many problems. The only warning I can issue is about passport control for inbound passengers: the checkpoint is usually understaffed and it can take a while before you can get through (this only applies to passengers arriving from UK Ireland Poland Hungary and other non Schengen countries). Connections to the center of Rome are ok. Terravision is the most expensive direct bus link (EUR 8 single EUR 13.5 return). Competitive rates are offered by "Bus Shuttle" (EUR 6 each way) and by Schiaffini bus service (EUR 5 each way). All these companies connect CIA to Termini station non stop. Not so surprisingly the airport website only promotes a link for Terravision.

Great bus service when we used it at the beginning of December. Bus was waiting for when we arrived at Ciampino and after waiting about 10 minutes for other passengers we were off. On our return on the Sunday evening yes the Termini was busy but the staff checked your tickets to find out your flight times. Once one bus was full and was off there was another waiting to take its place. Great service and price.

Arrived Ciampino 23.30 hrs on a Tuesday night. Had pre-booked a return ticket on the Terravision bus to Termini and was in the middle of Rome by 00.50. The driver didn't drop us off at Termini but on the Via Giovani Giolitti which runs down the side of the Railway Station. On reflection this was a good move as Termini is not the sort of place you would want to hang around after dark. A five minute wait at the taxi rank on the Via Giovani Giolitti and 13 euros later I was in my hotel room. Absolutely no problems. On the return journey took the metro to Anangina and then the Cotral Bus to Ciampino. Don't buy a ticket from the Cotral Ticket machine in the bus station. It's not valid for the journey to Ciampino. Buy one on the bus. The bus leaves from platform one and costs 1 euro. Checked in airside at Ciampino without any problems but passengers accustomed to American or British customer service standards might get a bit irritated with the rather off hand manner off the staff although by Roman standards it's pretty good. Would recommend Ciampino without hesitation but a little research into bus and train times before your journey would be good idea.