Milan’s Airport Linate is not only very passenger friendly but also very easy to reach from Milan’s city center.
There are three airports for Milan with Linate being the closest to the city center. It takes only 15-20 minutes to reach the city center of Milan, being 8 km away from Linate, and an average taxi fare costs 25 euros.
eTN Chatroom: Discuss with readers from around the world:
This will all change this summer.
Milan’s Airport Linate will close for three months during the summer for maintenance of its runway.
Over 30,000 flights have to be moved from July 27 to October 27, 2019 to two other airports – mainly Malpensa.
The airport closure hits Milan Linate Airport during its busiest time of the year, which means 752 flights and nearly 100,000 seats – just in one week from July 29 to 4 August 4, 2019.
It also means that Malpensa has to digest 100,000 to 120,000 passengers a day, instead of its usual 75-80,000 passengers per day.
Passengers will have a much longer journey, and cheap flights are no longer cheap, as additional transportation might cost as much as the flight – taxis fares to Milan – Malpensa Airport are at 95 euros.
While back in October last year you could still book flights to Milan -Linate with15 daily flights just from London with British Airways and Alitalia to Linate for example, now there is only one problem, you will not land in Linate or take off from Linate Airport.
Most of the flights will be moved up north to Milan at Malpensa Airport, Varese, and 50 km away from Milan city center, or to Orio al Serio Bergamo which is 60 km away from the city center.
It was known in advance that Linate’s runways will be getting a make-over.
But operating airlines such as Air France, British Airways, Alitalia, KLM, Iberia, Lufthansa, Scandinavia Airlines, and Brussels Airlines for flights already sold did not exist on the airport’s homepage last year.
The move will cause a lot of frustration among holidaymakers
Linate is also a very important hub for Sardinia of Air Italy, former Meridiana and now part of Qatar Airways. The famous island of Sardinia where many Italians have their villas and their yachts is the summer hot spot not only for Italians but also for many foreigners attracted to the area.
Can Malpensa handle the airport traffic?
Malpensa is already known for long waiting times for the baggage. It has always been one of the main issues of the airport, and it likely will not get better this summer.
Travelers should calculate more time for long queues at security checkpoints and passport control when flying to Milan this summer.
Andrea Tucci, Aviation Director of aviation business development SEA – the company that is operating the two airports – is confident that the massive investments on new technologies will pay out for the big move of air traffic to Milano to Malpensa.
However, in checking the official website of Linate Airport, there is still nothing said about the forthcoming closure and everything seems normal. Until you get there.
The airport is not only done with investments of more technologies, it also needs far more seats in waiting areas, additional staff for food and beverages outlets, and trained passenger assistance, as Malpensa is going to have a hot summer and will have to handle a passenger increase of over 25 percent during this year’s peak summer months.
