Hi all, planning an 8 land day trip to northern Italy for May 2017. I plan on splitting our time between Cinque Terre & Lake Como as home bases. When I try to locate flights into Milan, I get flying into 2 different airports. I realize LIN is located in the city center & the other is the large major airport about an hr out of the city. Is there one that is more preferable than the other? Thank you!
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16894 posts
Both airports have easy connections to Milano Central train station: from Malpensa by train about 45 minutes (bus also available) and from Linate by ATM or Starfly bus in 30 minutes. I have not had any issue with Malpensa, but if other aspects of price and schedule are equal, I would now choose the smaller Linate. I assume that you have to make a connection in either case, but if you have a direct flight from your home base to Malpensa, then take it. Coming from Seattle, I also prefer a connection in Europe versus one in the US and prefer connecting at Amsterdam Schiphol over Paris CDG.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15269 posts
If you plan to fly from Chicago (ORD), there are no direct non stop flights to Milan airports.
You will need to connect at another layover hub either in North America or Europe (I prefer the latter).
If that layover hub is in North America (e.g. NYC), then MXP is your only choice, since LIN serves only EU capitals and hubs.
If that layover hub is in Europe (e.g. LHR, FRA, MUC, CDG, AMS), then LIN is the better choice, because it has more flights from/to Europe (AirFrance and KLM don't even fly to MXP from CDG or AMS anymore for example)
LIN is also closer to the city, therefore it will be faster and cheaper to get to the Milan Central station where you take the train to lake Como.
Posted by
OP
Somonauk, Illinois, USA
400 posts
Thanks Laura & Roberto! Right now, the best price is with Aer Lingus which connects in Dublin and flies into LIN. I so agree with staying away with connections in the states. I just did not know much about Milan's smaller airport. But you both reassured me that that would work out better.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15269 posts
Linate is smaller but it's still the 3rd largest in Italy with nearly 10 million pax a year. It's also more convenient due to the proximity to the city center, that is why it's the preferred airport by business travelers (everybody actually).
LIN is however limited, by law, to certain flights: domestic Italian, EU capitals, and major EU hubs. The reason is noise abatement restrictions (only a limited number of flights per hour are allowed and none between 11pm and 6:30am), the short runway (8000ft) which cannot accommodate wide body aircrafts, and also the attempt by authorities to develop the far away Malpensa. It is basically the Milan equivalent of the National Reagan airport in DC.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
792 posts
that is a good analogy Roberto ... Reagan vs Dulles, Linate vs Malpensa