MXP airport in Milan, Italy

Maybe you can answer your own question:

1. It takes about an hour to get out there - - you leave at 2:00.

2. You have to wake up and get organized - - that starts at 1:00.

3. From 11:00 to 1:00 is two hours.

4. The hotel for a couple of hours is the same price as a hotel for all night.

5. Sleeping in airports is not a sin and, in fact, is one of the great pleasures in life.

Two questions in return for the logic lesson:

1. Why did you plan it that way?
2. What do you think is going out there at three in the morning?

No answer required.

I would say you should switch to a hotel near MXP (there are many) and arrange for a taxi at 5 am. There is no activity at the airport between 2:30 am (flight to Abu Dhabi) and 6:11 am (flight to Frankfurt). The 6:30 am flight (Air Berlin to Duesseldorf?) probably will not have anyone at the airport to check you in until 5:00 am at the earliest. There is really no reason to be there that early, you will be sitting on your can for 2 hours.

Thank you Ed - I like your reasoning. The plan is to return to US and that was the best price flight to
get to Philadelphia that day. I agree early flights can be an issue, but after three weeks in Europe,
we will be fine. Airports can be boring and since we have not been at MXP before, I wanted advice.
It will not be the first or last time that we nap in an airport.

There are no flights directly to the US that early in the morning.
I bet you are going to PHL via Lisbon with TAP (departing at 6:35) with a USairways codeshare or via Dusseldorf with Air Berlin (departing at 6:30) or with. Lufthansa via Frankfurt (departing at 6:40). No other options around that time.
No matter which, you are flying from MXP to a E.U. Schengen Area airport, therefore the equivalent of a domestic flight in the US. Getting there by 5:15am is more than adequate.
There is a Malpensa Express train leaving the Cadorna Station in the city center of Milan at 04:28 which arrives at the airport at 5:04. The next one, 30 min later, arrives at 5:34, maybe a bit tight.
The other alternative is to find a hotel near the airport. I don't recommend a taxi from Milan. The airport is far and the taxi is not as fast as the train (at least 45 min) and the taxi fare is exorbitant (€90 flat rate vs. €10 train ticket).

Thank you Roberto - you are right about the TAP flight!
Appreciate your ideas!

There is one hotel, the Malpensa Sheraton, which is actually connected to Malpensa Airport. Pricier than others, but certainly the easiest final evening and morning. There are various more economical hotels near Malpensa, that have airport shuttles, usually free. But you would need to check in advance about the shuttle schedules to see if they are running as early as you would need. If you would need a taxi, then that would add some cost to the night's stay. Last fall I spent my departure night at the First Hotel Malpensa, which I found very nice, comfortable and affordable. But my flight was at 8:30 am, so I could get their shuttle at 6:00 am, then found I was at the airport very early and outside of a basic coffee bar, no other food places or shops were open yet.