If you&rsquore planning to visit Milan next year, you may want to plan a bit in advance. Milan&rsquos busiest and most convenient airport, Milan Linate will close its doors to all passengers in the summer of 2019 due to renovations on its only runway. Needless to say, this closure comes during the busiest period of the year and an approximate of 2 million passengers will be affected.
The hiatus will last from July 27th to October 27th 2019 as the airport will go through a significant restyling project, which is set to beautify and modify its terminals, lounges, and runway. Meanwhile, travellers booking their holidays to Italy may need to find alternative routes. You will have to opt for Milan Malpensa, another airport about 25 miles from the city centre as opposed to the more convenient Milan Linate which is about 5 miles away, given its proximity to the city.
This increase in passengers is sure to put pressure on the Milan Malpensa airport which will take on the bulk of passengers and extra flights routed through the airport. Italian Authority for the Civil Aviation (ENAC) has said that &ldquothose who have already booked their flights will have to be reimbursed, re-authorized or advised, depending on what the customer will decide&rdquo.
What does this mean for the passengers They may have to deal with congestion at the Malpensa airport terminals and limited tickets while booking. We advise you to leave early for the airport to leave some extra time for security checks. You may also take a train to or from Milan but make sure to account for the increase in traffic. Milan has a third airport, Orio al Serio, near the city of Bergamo but seems unlikely to be popular choice with travellers.
The renovations are set to cost an upwards of $180 million and officials say that the work on terminals will continue on micro sites so that the impact is as little as possible. The entire work is expected to finish by 2021.