On Thursday, January 1, 2026, our family of four (myself, my partner, and our two children aged 5…read moreand 4) arrived at Termini from Napoli. We headed to the Leonardo Express platform to catch the Leonardo Express to Fiumicino Airport. The next train was leaving a couple of minutes later. We tried to tap our credit cards on the automatic machines on the platform but they were not working. We asked a Trenitalia employee and a controller, who were talking to each other at the entrance of the train, if it was ok to pay on board, and they said yes, so we decided to board the train immediately.
After we found seats on the train, I pulled out my cell phone and purchased tickets online. I saw that we needed to purchase only two tickets since each adult could be accompanied by one child (please see attached copy of the tickets). Just before arriving to Fiumicino Airport, the same controller we had seen when we boarded the train asked for our tickets. I showed her the tickets on my phone and she said "I do not see tickets here". At first I did not understand what she was saying, so I asked her to repeat and explain what the problem was. That is when I realized that, in the rush, I made the mistake of purchasing tickets from Fiumicino to Termini, instead of from Termini to Fiumicino. This is my mistake, I admit it.
I tried to explain to the controller that we were not going to use the tickets I had bought (we live in the USA and have no plan to travel back to Rome soon) but she was very rude and made no effort to try and understand that this was just an honest mistake. She then said I had to purchase new tickets and that the cost of each ticket, when purchased on board, is 64 euros per ticket. I was so shocked that I first refused. The controller then threatened to call the airport police if I refused to pay. Having no choice, I paid, using my American Express card to pay the exorbitant amount of 128 euros (please see attached copy of that receipt).
This was a total scam. The controller never informed us that purchasing tickets on board cost the astronomical amount of 64 euros per ticket. The controller was rude and discourteous and made no effort at understanding the situation. We were just tourists trying to make our way to the airport, not delinquants trying to get a free ride, but we were treated as if we had deliberately tried to break the law.
I complained at the station at the airport and was given an email address to send my complaint. Needless to say, I never received a reply.