Italy’s Milan Linate Airport, the country’s fifth-busiest, closed this week for a three-month refurbishment project on its lone 8,000-foot runway. While helicopter flights will still be accommodated at the Milano Prime general aviation terminal during the closure, the airport is expected to reopen to airplanes in late October.
Until then, the majority of Linate’s approximately 200 flights a day will be transferred to Milan’s larger airport, Malpensa (which is 30 miles northwest of the city, compared with Linate’s six miles from the city center), and Bergamo-Orio al Serio International. The closure has other airports and FBOs in the region expecting to pick up extra private aviation traffic as well.
According to trip support provider Jetex, prior permission is required for business aircraft arrivals at Malpensa and parking must be confirmed in advance with the airport authority, which allows a maximum of 12 hours' parking time for non-based aircraft.
SEA Prime, which manages both Milan airports, prepared for the closure by building a general aviation terminal—its first—at Malpensa Airport. That facility opened last week. The company began hosting general aviation service at Malpensa in 2017 when it completed a renovation on a 53,000-sq-ft former commercial hangar. Construction of the new 15,000-sq-ft Milano Prime general aviation terminal began last October. The project cost $4.65 million.