Amount of time needed to get through Rome Customs/Immigration
 

We will be flying from the U.S. to Rome on our way to Catania, Sicily. Our Delta flight lands at 7:30am on a Sunday. We will be picking up an Alitalia flight for Catania at 9:30am. Although we booked as a "through" flight, we assume we will need to pick up our bags, go through Customs and Immigration (?) before heading to Alitalia. From your experience, how long does it take for this process (to go through Customs / Immigration) and should I change my Alitalia flight to a later time?? THANK YOU for your help !

If it is a single ticket and your bags are booked through to Catania then you will go through immigration in Rome, and through security again. You will collect your luggage in Catania and go through customs there. That means walking through the green channel, no search or anything unless you are extremely unlucky.

You won't need to pickup your bags until you get to Catania. Check them through.

Two hours should be enough time to deplane and get to your next gate. Immigration check will take a minimal amount of time. What I found was a long walk for the connecting flight to Sicily. I think I had 1.5 hours and had enough time so you'll be fine with 2 hours as long as your flight lands in Rome on time and who can predict that.

If you arrive at a busy time (and morning when many flights arrive from North America is a busy time), immigration at Fiumicino can take an hour or more. However, if you miss your connection, you booked the flights together, so Alitalia should get you on another flight that day, assuming -- as is likely -- space is available.

Do not plan to pick up your luggage in Rome, it can be a nightmare, it can be dead easy, just book it through.

bioteachea,

you may be able to find out before you land which gate your next flight is leaving from; you should certainly be able to download a map of the airport so that you can familiarise yourselves with the layout.

There will be a lot of plane arriving when you do - so to increase your chances of making the ongoing flight:

1) Besure to check your bags through
2) Sit as far forward in the planes as possibleplane (may save 15 minutes deplaning)
3) jog or walk as quickly as possible to Immigration - to get ahead of the others on your plane (may save you 20 miutes or even more)
4) know where your next gate is and have the route to it planned out
5) going through security - be prepared - don;t have liquids or other items that may hold you up