Rome FIumicino Airport: best in Europe and many awards, but T1 lounges continue to be a problem

We are humble paying passengers, transiting around the world unescorted and without notifying anyone of our passage.

Of course there are those who meet us and we are always happy to offer coffee in the lounge, but at Rome Fiumicino it is practically impossible.

Rome Fiumicino: the original sin

The situation was already evident in spring 2023 When, one after another, the 4 lounges present in Terminal 1 had been inaugurated Of the Roman stopover.

Traffic at FCO was growing in double digits and the lounges were designed for those from before: too small and too few. While eataly, temakinho and other brands have sprung up like mushrooms with remarkable spaces and terraces, it is clear that in AdR they have done the math and valued the receipts from the food court at the expense of waiting room rents.

The problems came to a head during the past summer season: the airport has experienced monstrous growth and from the chairs in the terminal to the lounges everything was put under pressure. The master plan designing the airport of the next 30 years has been sketched out, but permits (and years of work) are still missing from seeing it through.

Coming soon (but not this summer) 1000sqm of lounges

Last year AdR in an interview with us had announced. The arrival of new lounges totaling 1000sqm of floor space, already something but really too few to think about making it more livable.

To have a term of comparison the lounge alone of Lufthansa at London Heathrow terminal 2 occupies 1,600 square meters of floor space and we are talking about a single lounge (or rather two since there is the Senator inside) dedicated to passengers flying on LH Group airlines from Heathrow, so not a space open to everyone.

Of course the Hangar lounge will be enlarged by 150sqm., but it is a drop in the ocean when you consider that no longer welcomes only ITA passengers, but also all Lufthansa Group passengers and from early 2026 with Star Alliance membership also those of TAP, LOT, Eagean and all Star Alliance passengers in transit. It is already undersized now, let alone next summer.

Then there is the Skyteam issue.. Delta continues to grow at Fiumicino, next year will increase flights and destinations, not to mention that Air France KLM passengers, but also Saudia, China Eastern, SAS or Air Europa will have to find a home. I personally believe that Skyteam could, indeed should, open its own alliance lounge at FCO, but the problem in this case would be where: T1 for Schengen flights, where those flying short-haul can also enter, or T3 for intercontinental flights?

In the former world, Star Alliance had a lounge at FCO., designed precisely to accommodate the group's many passengers. In fact, it would be fair to say that they even built it in the new T1, But then given the LH/AZ marriage it became Prima Vista.

Partially better off are oneWorld travelers, of course if you fly Iberia to Madrid or Finnair to Helsinki you leave from T1, but the British Airways lounge in T3 welcomes not only those who fly BA but also travelers from Qatar, Qantas, and American-we're not talking about a huge lounge, but one that "endures" with even the small downside of not even having indoor bathrooms.

Yesterday morning at 8:10 all sold out

Yesterday, June 26, at 8 a.m. I was at the airport on my way home and was able to experience the situation firsthand. In the ITA lounge, I had to turn around a lot to find a place to sit, the only vacant seats were those at the bar counter, definitely uncomfortable for working while waiting for the flight.

Things, however, were much worse outside. No possibility of entering one of the other lounges at T1 with a priority pass card or similar. The three different managers organized themselves in completely different ways. All these halls, of course, leave room for airline passengers because the carriers pay more than what the operators collect from PP, Dragonpass and other cards.

At First View, the only one of the T1 lounges that did not even have indoor toilets, a sign bounced everyone saying that only those with reservations were allowed access. The thing that amazed me is that there is no such thing on PV's site, Priority Pass's site, or other information on the net about how to book the visit. System that is used in many lounges around the world precisely to secure access. There wasn't even a QR, so I didn't stop to ask, but the feeling is that the sign is the fastest way to bounce non-premium passengers from the lounge's partner companies.

At Plaza Premium staff with pen and paper update the waiting list and estimate admission times, the SUPER patient worker also performs a public service given that it directs passengers to the best solution, such as suggesting those departing from T3 to go to that area of the airport and try to access those lounges.

The last lounge, the most hidden one, is the PrimeClass, here people are queuing and waiting like at the parking lot, a spot becomes free one person enters.

In conclusion

Sure lounges live on waves, but our readers continue to report to us the difficulty in getting into Fiumicino, at all hours and for months. Now coming to the peak of the season, the situation has become critical and surely 1000sqm of salt will only be a small panacea, but in the meantime they will not arrive in time this season.