Milan is not only a world fashion center, the capital of Lombardy and a large metropolis of Northern Italy. It is also the largest transport hub. They say that all roads lead to Rome. We will not argue with this statement. Just to clarify: with a change in Milan. Only there is no seaport here - due to the lack of access to the ocean in the city. But the capital of Lombardy can rightfully be called the air gate of Italy. The topic of this article will be Milan airports. We will try to give an idea about the terminals, we will advise how to get to the city center. A rough description of the hubs will give you an idea of where you need to arrive to land. And transit passengers, based on information about the infrastructure and their neutral zones, can plan the waiting time for a connecting flight.
Milan Airports
There are only three of them. The oldest airport, Linate, is the only one located incity limits. Getting to it will not be a problem. This hub serves flights within Italy and some European routes - to Madrid, Lisbon. This is a small airport. A little more - "Milan-Bergamo", serves mainly budget airlines. If you are flying to Italy with a low-cost airline, then most likely you will land in it. To be completely honest, this airport is closest to the city of Bergamo, a handsome city that stands proudly on the pre-alpine rocks. But still, it is also considered the Milan air gate. Well, and the largest airport, which is on everyone's lips, is Malpensa. This is a giant hub that receives numerous flights from various parts of the globe. Now let's look at them in more detail.
Linate
Officially, this airport is named after Enrico Forlanini, but everyone calls it Aeroporto di Milano-Linate. As already mentioned, unlike the "Malpensa" and "Bergamo", it is located on the territory of Milan, within the city. The hub is a single three-story terminal. Although it is open around the clock, it is reminiscent of a bus station in terms of liveliness. During the day you will find a lot of cafes and shops in it, but at night all this trading activity stops. Foreign tourists have a chance to get to Linate only if you arrive from abroad to Malpensa, and then decide to move to the south of Italy on your own. For the sake of such cases, the Malpensa Shuttle bus runs. It connects the airports of Milan, and comesto all terminals of the main city hub. The shuttle runs at intervals of about an hour and a half, and the travel time is approximately seventy minutes. The ticket is purchased directly from the driver, it costs thirteen euros.
How to get to Linate
For many tourists flying to Italy for the first time, a very common question arises: how far are Milan's airports from the city? How to get from them, for example, to the main train station or the Cathedral of El Duomo? In the case of Linate, all anxieties can be discarded. The airport is located within the city, connected to the center and the surrounding area by numerous bus routes and a metro line. A regular shuttle will take you from Linate to another hub, Malpensa.
Orio al Serio
This is the official name of Milan's second largest airport. Although, to be honest, it belongs to the district of Bergamo. The airport on the map of this city, actually located in the Alps, is three kilometers southeast of its central part. Since the status of the hub is somewhat lower than that of Malpensa, it asks for less for its services, and therefore is in demand from budget airlines. All famous European low-cost airlines fly here - Jeman Wings, Easy Jet and others. From here it is convenient to get to the lakes of Northern Italy - Como, Lago Maggiore, Garda, as well as ski alpine resorts and the city of Turin. The well-developed infrastructure of the hub will allow passengers to easily find the necessary services, have a good time while waitinglanding. There are many shops and cafes in the departure halls.
How to get from Orio al Serio to Milan
The easiest way to get from the hub is to Bergamo. The airport is located so close to this city that you can get there by city bus. But from Milan it is separated by as much as fifty-five kilometers. There are two ways to get to the capital of Lombardy - by train or by bus. In front of the airport exit (arrivals hall) there is a bus stop for Bergamo. For less than two euros and 10-15 minutes, this type of public transport will take you to the railway station. The only thing to consider is that the buses run from six in the morning until half past midnight. There are very frequent trains to Milan from Bergamo Station. Travel time is an hour. The ticket costs about five euros. Another way to get to the Lombard capital, as well as Turin, the main city of Piedmont, is by bus. They also depart from stops near the Orio al Serio airport exit. There are several of them, but don't let that bother you - transportation is carried out by several companies. The ticket price is approximately the same for everyone - about ten euros. Just walk around and compare the schedule from where the car leaves faster. Tickets are sold at the box office in the airport building. Buses run from four in the morning until half past eleven at night.
Malpensa (airport)
Previously, these main air gates of Lombardy were called "Busto Arsizio", after the name of the outlyingarea of Milan, through which you must pass to get to the terminals. Now the airport is officially called "Malpensa" (Malpensa). This is the largest air terminal in the city. Seven years ago, passenger traffic in it was more than twenty-three million people a year. This is three times more than at Bergamo Airport. Competition "Malpensa" in Italy can only be the Roman hub. Leonardo da Vinci. In addition to passengers, this airport also accepts cargo aircraft, for which a special Cargo City terminal has been built. Serves Malpensa and low-cost airlines, although not on the same scale as Orio al Serio. Terminal T-2 accepts aircraft from EasyJet and Lufthansa Italia, a subsidiary of the respected German concern..
Malpensa infrastructure
The largest airport in Milan has two terminals. T-1 serves regular passenger flights, and T-2 - budget and charters. It is very possible to get lost in Terminal-1 - it is so huge. There are two wings. "A" is a compartment intended for local routes or flights within the Schengen area. That is, there are no border controls. And in the "B" wing, passengers flying to countries that are not in the Schengen zone are registered for boarding. All airports in Milan are constantly expanding their capacity, but in "Malpensa" this process is taking place at the most rapid pace. A third runway is currently under construction, as well as a terminalT-3.
How not to get lost in Malpensa
Even if you get off the train or bus at the wrong terminal by mistake, don't panic. Between T-1 and T-2 free shuttles run constantly. Usually flights to Moscow and other Russian cities depart from the first terminal, from the "B" wing. If you have arrived in transit at Malpensa (Milan airport), the timetable in the arrivals hall will inform you where the connecting flight will depart from. In the event that you wish to fly to other cities in Italy, you need to go through passport control and come to one of the gates of the T-2 terminal for boarding. Each terminal has many shops, cafes and restaurants, bank and post offices, currency exchange offices and car rental offices. Large luggage trolleys are available. There is a service for wrapping suitcases and bags with foil.
How to get from Malpensa to Milan
Passengers who arrive at this airport at night do not need to take a taxi. From the first terminal (T-1), the Malpensa Express train runs around the clock. Its final stop is Cadorna Central Station. Therefore, do not jump out unnecessarily, just seeing the inscription Milano on the platform. You will pass the stations "Busto Arsizio", "Saronno" and "Milano Bovisia". Express trains depart from the central station every half an hour to Malpensa Airport. The map shows that Milan's main air gatelocated 45 km from the city, in the town of Varese. Therefore, the travel time will be about forty minutes. It is possible to get to Milan on another train - the Trenitalia company. The train passes near two terminals, collecting passengers. But such a train follows only to the Gallarate station. Shuttles depart from both terminals. They will take you to the central bus station. A special shuttle runs to Linate. It is possible to leave the "Malpensa" straight to Turin.
