Milan has 2 airports, Linate and Malpenza. I have recently flown into Malpenza which is about 45 kilometres from Milan on the North Western side. As such we are not exactly in Milan. I suppose having flown from Manchester the same could be said of my destination point. Manchester airport is not exactly in Milan either or Manchester for that matter. What Milan shares with many European airports is that it sits as part of an integrated transport system. The fact that it is outside the city does not matter as buses leave every 20 minutes for the city centre and the train station to Milan beautiful Stazione Centrale is below the airport. If you have to taxi then finding oe is easier than affording one. There are plenty about but at around £35-40 for the one way fare to Milan then who can blame them, you do not need to do that journey too many times a day to make a decent living.
The airport itself boasts a wonderful new Terminal 1 which is used by Alitalia mainly but also by BA who I was flying with. It seems to be most used for scheduled flights. The terminal looks like the one in the ThunderbirdsTV series. It is very modern and futuristic. The arrivals floor is typical airport chic of marble. My baggage arrived quite quickly but a colleague I was waiting for off a different flight had to wait an hour holding us up. BA 1 Alitalia 0. Whilst waiting I had a pleasant plate of pasta in Spizzico which is a pizza and pasta place. It was reasonably priced at about £3.50 for the pasta, a soft drink and a dessert and good quality. I had booked a car though Europcar and the collection of that went well. Alas the main gripe I have about Milan airport though would be the appalling signposting as we left he car park. It was literally choose your road time with no help from any directions. Needless to say we got a little lost but eventually found our way to the autostrada.
After my visit to Italy I returned via Milan again. Finding the airport was obviously easier than getting out but the fact that it is so far beyond Milan if lke me you have been over to the east of Italy means you should make sure you allow plenty of time. They are also constructing a new motorway link to the airport so short term allow extra time, long term the road link should be better, assuming they put some signposts up.
Once inside and having checked in with BA we sought out some food. The airport is reasonably well placed for somewhere to eat but do not expect anything too grand. It is almost all pizza and pasta. However one tip is to use the Autogrill on the 2and floor. Now Autogrill is Italys answer to Road Chef but like many things our European friends do it so much better. There is pizza and pasta sure but they also have a huge selection of cooked dishes which they cook when you order them. As a lot of it is thin strips of meat in sauces it takes very little time and it was delicious. For £15 the 2 of us had a main course, a serve yourself salad, a dessert and a drink and the quality was fantastic. There was even balsamic vinegar and top quality virgin olive oil available at the table.
Everything about the airport was good. The shops are well stocked with quality Italian fare, fresh parmiggiano, good local wines (not duty free of course) and choice Parma hams. The seating areas are typical airport seats so no more comfortable than anywhere else. The gates where you wait to depart are large open areas with plenty of room.
Milan is a good airport with much to commend it and much other airports could copy.
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I went to Milan earlier this year but it was into Linate..as I was intending on visiting the City, thanks for this it gives me an idea about the other airport.
Pumpkin 13.09.2001 22:48
Excellent opinion, well written and researched. Hannah
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Sep 13th, 2001
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