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Airports of Milan
Malpensa airport
The main international airport is Malpensa (Milan Malpensa, IATA: MXP). It's a
large, modern, two-runway airport. The airport has two terminals, with Terminal
1 being the largest (international and intercontinental flights). Terminal 2 is
used by a number of budget airlines, such as Easyjet, and has grown consistently
in the last few years (2004-2008). The two terminals are connected by a free
shuttle bus service (running approximately every 20 minutes). However, such
shuttles are very small and the frequency is inadequate: long queues tend to
form, which prompts several taxi drivers to station right next to the stop and
pick up those passengers who don't want to or can't afford to wait. It is not
uncommon for passengers to wait up to 40-45 minutes for the transfers: most
shuttles are packed, forcing passengers to wait for the next one.
SEA Aeroporti di Milano The firm operating Malpensa and Linate
airports.
Malpensa Express Trains. It leaves every 30 minutes from Terminal 1 and arrives
at Milan's Cadorna train station after 40 minutes (Cadorna station is connected
to Milan's subway network). By far recommended as the easiest and fastest
connection to Milan, it is a rather efficient, speedy link (may be crowded at
rush hours). Ticket: single trip ?11 (?13.50 if bought on the train), round trip
(single day) ?14 (?17 if bought on the train). Your ticket must be validated in
the station before boarding. Last trains depart from Malpensa Terminal 1 at
approx 11:20PM so if you arrive on a late flight or are delayed then you will
need to take a bus or taxi. Taking the train is not recommended if you have to
reach Terminal 2, as the connections between T1 and T2 are very poor (see
above).
To save a little bit of money at the expense of changing trains, buying two
separate tickets and waiting some time at the connecting point, you may use the
special train from Malpensa airport to Saronno and a regular service from
Saronno to Milan (total cost for a single trip bought at the ticket office
?8.10). An even cheaper way but with a much more difficult connection is
changing in Busto Arsizio FN train station (total cost for a single trip bought
at the ticket office ?5.95).
Buses leave approximately every 20 minutes for Centrale Station and Linate
airport, costing about ?6 (?10 for a return ticket). Travel can take from 40
minutes (weekends) to 1 hour or more (during weekday mornings). Buses are the
best bet if you arrive at Terminal 2. Since you need to take the slow airport
internal shuttle bus to get to the train station, you might as well get on a bus
directly to Milan. There is always a bus waiting, and they usually wait until
the bus is completely full before departing.
Using a taxi to get from Malpensa to the city center is expensive: ?70 (fixed
fee for a City-Airport trip, without further stops). Note that only taxis
registered in Milan itself have signed up to the fixed fee agreement - taxis
from outlying cities (which you will also find at Malpensa) have not signed on
to the agreement, will still take you to Milan but will charge you the meter
reading (generally ?80+ in light traffic). If upon entering a taxi you do not
see a card on the window or rear of the driver/passenger seats, then you are in
a non-Milanese taxi. You can request the fixed fee if the driver refuses, then
take the next taxi in the rank. You may find that if you take the fixed fee from
a non-Milanese taxi then they take a slower non-toll road rather than the toll
paying motorway (tolls are ALWAYS paid by the driver so are included in the
meter or fixed fee).
You can reach Milan by Trenitalia trains departing from Gallarate train station.
A bus service is available from Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 to Gallarate.
Linate airport
Some European or national flights arrive at Linate Airport (IATA: LIN). This
small but rather efficient one-runway airport is very close to the city centre
(7 km). It is mostly serviced by airlines to domestic destinations and some
European destinations.
Since the airport is so close to the city, it is served by buses of the city
public transport network: Bus no. 73 outside the terminal building goes to San
Babila Square, in the city centre, which is served by metro line MM1. Note that
this bus is not a dedicated service but a city transportation network bus with
many stops en route, may get crowded during peak hours. The bus runs every ten
minutes and costs ?1. This bus service is managed by ATM [4], the public
transport company of Milan. Tickets can be purchased from the newsagent inside
the airport terminal or by the ATM vending machines close to the bus stop. With
the same ticket, you can transfer to the metro (subway) system once and
unlimited buses or tram streetcars in a 75 minute period. You can also directly
use a comprehensive ticket to many places in the suburbs. For more detail see
#Get around. Information and timetables available from the ATM web site.
To catch the right 73 bus to Milan, look for direction "SAN BABILA M1" and avoid
Line 73 buses directed to "S.FELICINO".
A dedicated bus service connects Linate airport to Milan's center running every
30 minutes and tickets cost ?3.00 per adult (ticket sold at local newsagent and
on board).
A bus service, operated by Malpensa Shuttle [5] connects Malpensa airport to
Linate airport as well as Malpensa to Milan's Central train station (timetables,
fares and ticket booking available online). The journey takes 30 minutes to 1
hour, depending on traffic conditions.
Taxis from Linate to the city centre cost around ?12-20 depending on traffic
conditions. The minimum charge is ?12. If you are going to the centre, ignore
all the guys standing at the exit to the terminal saying "taxi"... they are for
destinations outside central Milan (ie, outlying cities) and will charge a
minimum of ?70. Queues for regular taxis can get long during peak commuter hours
(early evening) and are particularly bad during Fashion Week.
Orio al Serio airport
Some budget airlines fly into Orio al Serio Airport (IATA: BGY) [6]. About 45km
north-east of Milan near the city of Bergamo. Ryanair refers to this as Milan
Bergamo Airport. Public transport into Milan is slightly less convenient than
Malpensa or Linate:
Trains to Milan leave from Bergamo station, which you can get to by shuttle bus
or taxi, but is quite far from the airport. Buses to Bergamo are run by ZANI and
take 10 minutes, at a cost of around ?1.50. Trains from Bergamo to Milan run
every 30-60 minutes and take around 1 hour. Adult one-way fare approx ?4.
Bus Services All buses leave for Milan from immediately outside the arrivals
section of the airport and from Ferrante Aporti on the east side of Central
Station in Milan for all the companies below.
Autostradale run a direct bus [8] from Orio Airport to Milano Centrale station,
which is probably the best choice. Departure times may vary, but buses generally
run every half hour during the day, less often at night, and take about 1 hour
or more. However, beware of cutting things too fine, because the highway to
Milan is very crowded during weekdays. Adult one-way fare: ?8.90. Tickets are
sold in Orio Al Serio Airport in Bergamo and at the Central Train Station in
Milan. Be at the Milan Bus stop at least 15 minutes before nominal departure
time, or you may get left behind. Tickets can be purchased online, but sellers
at the airport and train station will offer 3 tickets for price of 2.
Zani Viaggi also run a bus service from Bergamo Airport to Milano Centrale
station with a stop at the Cascina Gobba MM2 station on the North Eastern
outskirts of Milan. Adult fare: ?6.70 one way. Tickets sold at an office in the
airport or online.
Taxis will set you back maybe ?100 from Orio to Milan.
