Skip to content

Get Ready for Airport Disruptions If You're Going to Milan in 2019

Sept. 24, 2018
3 min read
Screen Shot 2018-09-24 at 13.49.34
Get Ready for Airport Disruptions If You're Going to Milan in 2019
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don’t cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.

If you are planning to visit Milan in the summer of 2019, or just to transit through its airports, you are in for possible disruptions. Linate airport (LIN) will be closed for renovations from July 27 to October 27 of next year, right in the middle of the busy summer holiday traffic peak.

According to Flight Service Bureau, authorities will decide shortly how to allocate flights to other airports. Most of them are expected to go to Malpensa (MXP), the main long-haul airport for Milan, which handled 22 million passengers in 2017, compared with nine million at Linate.

Linate is much closer to the city — less than five miles from downtown — while Malpensa is 40 miles away, making the former a favorite among business passengers who are a quick taxi ride away from Milan's central business district.

MILAN, ITALY - APRIL 19: A general view of the Linate Airport on April 19, 2010 in Milan, Italy. The airport was closed due to the cloud of volcanic ash from Volcano Eyjafjallajokull Iceland moving across Northern Europe. Airspace across northern Italy will remain closed until 06.00 GMT on April 20. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
A general view of the check-in desks at Linate Airport on April 19, 2010. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

With about 300 takeoffs and landings and 26,000 passengers per day at LIN, that's a lot of aircraft and passenger movement to accommodate. The good news is that the Milan airport system has a third airport available to take some of the Linate flights: Orio al Serio (BGY), which although technically serving the city of Bergamo, is used in practice by many Milanese. Ryanair, the biggest low-fare airline in Europe, maintains a large base at BGY. The biggest carrier at LIN is Alitalia.

The renovations will include repaving LIN's single, 8,000-foot runway, as well as work in the passenger terminal. Work will continue on extending the subway to Linate by 2021. Currently, buses are the only public transport option available for LIN and BGY, while MXP can be reached by train from Milan.

If you're planning to take a train to or from Milan during the LIN closure period, you should also account for an expected spike in traffic from people who are unable to fly.

Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts