Rome-Ciampino Airport > Reviews > Ciampino is good as far as small airports go.

Author's product rating:   

Prices	Poor
Is it worth visiting?	Average
Transport links	Average
Family Friendly	Average

Advantages:	Central location .
Disadvantages:	Infrequent transport connections

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I am a frequent customer of Ciampino airport and use it at least once per year if not more.

Ciampino is a military airport that also has commercial flights and was Romes major airport before Fiumicino was built and is about 12 - 15 km from the center of Rome.

Getting there

Ciampino is not terribly well connected as far as airports go and could be better. To get to the train station of Ciampino there is a bus service that runs at random times, it doesn't run at every 15 minutes or 30 minutes like you would expect but seems to run by when there is a plane and when there is not though I'm not sure if thats how its supposed to work. The service isn't run by CoTral but another company which name escapes me just now but it is something like €2 to the station. The bus stop is across from the taxi rank and you buy the ticket on the bus.

Buses also run to Anagnina metro station of the metro linea A (line A) of Rome underground this lets you get to Roma Termini (central station) or to most places in Rome. There is also a bus to Roma Termini direct.

The taxis are plentiful and they have the rank right outside the station though they don't run by meter as far as I've experienced. They haggle with you before you set off. Before we realised that there was a bus service and times when the plane has arrived late and you've missed the connection it'll cost you about €20 plus baggage... yes thats right, some wish to charge you for baggage too. Avoid if you can and get the bus if going to Ciampino train station.

To get from Rome Ciampino to Rome Termini takes about 40 minutes by bus and to get to Rome Ciampino train station takes about 10 to 15 minutes but in Rome traffic can be really hellish and don't expect to get there for when they say you'll get there, always allow for delays. The Trains in Italy seldom run on time and the buses are not any better.

Airport facilities

The airport (non air-side) has about two shops and two cafes, these sell the usual cheap souvenirs including post cards, chocolate and mini statues. The prices are somewhat ridiculous but having family in Italy and a frequent visitor don't have the need to be buying souvenirs.

The cafe sells all types of coffee your likely to buy in Italy including espresso that retails around the 70 cents mark which is still a bit expensive but not overly so - coffee is a commodity that doesn't fluctuate much in price in Italy.

There are a number of seats which are available which is alright as the other airport I'm used to flying from doesn't (Prestwick PIK), but less of that for now.

Car parking is abysmally small in capacity.

The actual building is modern enough and clean enough so no problems there.

Departure lounge & Air-side

There are a small selection of shops air-side and one cafe. The cafe sells the usual snacks as well as coffee and beverages including beer. The shops include a "duty free" that isn't used as that by many people as most of the planes go from Italy to another EU country and duty free doesn't apply. The prices are nothing special and probably in fact more expensive that most shops outside the building.

The one biggest problem I have with the departure lounge is the complete lack of seating, there are some but nowhere near as many as there should be for the amount of travelers going through there every day. You might think so what? If you have a disability where you cannot stand up for long times then this will be more than just a problem it will cause you pain.

The toilets are better than they were before, there are probably enough for the capacity unlike the seating and general space in the departure lounge but the locks on the doors are frustrating in fact my mother got locked in the toilet for about 10 minutes before she managed to force it open and this was down to a faulty lock. In the gents there is the usual airport graffiti on the back of the loo doors which can be amusing... Generally hygienic as far as toilets in Italy go.

Service

Service is generally good but baggage reclaim is terribly slow. One time we waited the best part of an hour for the baggage to come through. Why it took them all this time is beyond me.

The Carabinieri patrol the airport with machine guns under the arm, whether this makes you feel safe I don't know. But they are there and armed.

Companies

The companies which fly from Ciampino include:

"Blue Air
CentralWings
easyJet
FlyMe
HLX
Lviv Airlines
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Ryanair
Sterling
Wizz-Air" (wikipedia.org accessed 07/01/06)

I fly Ryanair all the time.

Disability provision

This really could be improved upon. There is inadequate seating air-side and when it comes to the priority boarding; to be fair is a joke. Yes, you get to stand in the queue first but this means you get on the silly little buses first which means you get off them last and end up on the plane last. Can't help but feel they have to be doing something productive but haven't quite thought it through. Not sure about wheelchair provision as my father doesn't like asking for it.

Conclusion

Could be better. They need to up the seating provision, sort out the disability provision and get the transport links sorted properly - they need to get them running frequently and regularly. Apart from that its alright. ©il_cacciatore07

*Like to point out that this was written on 7th Jan 2007*

Happy holidays.