Alitalia Offers Free Visit to Rome During Long Layovers

With the increasing popularity of stopovers as methods to visit otherwise flown-over destinations, travelers tack on one or more days to trips in order to spend time in their connecting city. Some airlines picked up on this trend and decided to offer travelers incentives to extend their getaways and visit a local town or city. Alitalia is one such example of an airline encouraging travelers to take part in a stopover perk for up to three days.

Alitalia’s layover deal lets travelers leave the airport and visit Rome for free during their stopover. The offer includes luggage storage at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. Passengers can travel into Rome for a few hours of wandering or stay the night (or two) in a discounted hotel room thanks to Federalberghi Roma, Rome’s hotelier trade union.

To participate in the program, travelers’ tickets (arriving and departing) must be booked with Alitalia, and passengers must call the airline directly to request the stopover program. Flights must include a connection change in Rome, Italy, so long as Italy, the United States, Canada or Mexico are not the final destination. The promotion — a strategy to promote tourism and increase Alitalia’s business — is currently available until Dec. 31.