To calculate what time you should arrive at the airport (and at what time you must leave the hotel or the house) must take into account four factors:
- the destination (domestic, international Schengen area, international non-Schengen area)
- the method chosen for the check-in,
- with what means of transport to get to the airport,
- the size of the airport of departure.
Destination: the case of a domestic flight or Schengen area you will not have to queue for passport control, but if the flight is directed from outside the Schengen area you must include the time for this control. You should check the airline’s website to check the time limit of acceptance (= check-in) at the airport in general, they range from 45 minutes before departure for domestic flights – meaning even those in interior areas Schengen – to two hours for non-Schengen flights.
Method chosen for the check-in: If you have checked in online, the boarding pass is already printed and then you will save the time for the queue at the check-in, but if you does the check-in at the airport, you have to consider the time of the line at the check-in.
As for the luggage to be shipped, if you check in at the airport, your bags are delivered at the same time of check-in, but if it has checked in online, you must leave the bench dedicated to baggage for passengers already registered (just follow the signs to close quarters).
Which means you arrive at the airport: if you arrive by car or bus travel time can be affected by traffic, so it is good to allow a certain margin of time.
Size of the airport of departure: the paths to walk inside the airport can be quite long in large structures (even ten minutes to get to the boarding area), whereas in airports are negligible dimensions. Airports in Italy, where it may be appropriate to take account of interior journey times are Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpens. Ciampino Airport is a small airport, there is not much to walk.
In conclusion, we suggest to arrive at Fiumicino Airport at least 2 hours before flight departure.
