12 March 2020

Covid-19: temporary closure of Milan Linate Airport

Commercial Aviation and General Aviation passenger traffic will be concentrated at Milan Malpensa airport

According to the provisions of the Decree issued today by the Ministry of Transport, commercial aviation and general aviation passenger traffic will be concentrated on the Milan Malpensa airport, with the temporary closure of the entire Milan Linate airport which will guarantee only emergency medical flights and / or for organ transport.

In particular, at least, at first, passenger traffic will be concentrated on Terminal 2 of Milan Malpensa in order to minimize the number of people and vehicles in operational activities to protect everyone's health. In fact, thanks to a significant reduction in the staff employed, the number of "contacts" and the associated risk of contagion will be limited.

The reasons that led to the choice to close the Milan Linate airport:

 Linate has a single runway of insufficient length to guarantee the operation of wide-body aircraft, typically used for long-haul routes.

 The current regulation of access to the airport also excludes the possibility of serving non-EU destinations and operating with double-aisle aircraft.

 Malpensa is the only airport capable of guaranteeing the operation of the Cargo thanks to its infrastructures (runways, aircraft aprons and warehouses). This sector remains strategic even in this emergency management phase.

 At the end of the emergency phase, there will be a gradual recovery of flight activity, with an unpredictable dynamic in volumes and portfolio of airlines / destinations. Malpensa, given the possibility of serving every type of aircraft and destination and the possibility of reactivation for infrastructure modules, is the most thoughtful choice.

Milan Linate begins the temporary stop from Monday March 16.

In the recovery phase, the gradual and flexible reactivation of Terminal 1 at Milan Malpensa and Milan Linate is expected, based on the reprogramming of flights by carriers.