The airport was built next to Idroscalo of Milan in the 1930s when Taliedo Airport, and one of the world's first aerodromes and airports, became too small for commercial traffic. Linate was completely rebuilt in the 1950s and again in the 1980s. Its name comes from the small village where it is located in the town of Peschiera Borromeo. Its official name is Airport Enrico Forlanini, after the Italian inventor and aeronautical pioneer born in Milan. Linate airport buildings are located in the Segrate Municipality, and the field is located for a large part in the Peschiera Borromeo Municipality. Since 2001, because of Linate's close proximity to the centre of Milan – only east of the city centre, compared with Malpensa, which is 41 km northwest of the city centre – its capacity has been reduced by law from 32 slots per hour down to 22 slots per hour and only domestic or international flights within the EU have been allowed. That year, 2001, also saw a major accident at Linate with many illegal and non-ICAO-regulation practices and layouts part of its then operation. From 27 July to 27 October 2019, Linate was closed for runway resurfacing and terminal upgrades. The latter project is expected to continue after the airport's reopening, concluding some time in 2021. During this closure, most flights were rerouted to Malpensa, displacing approximately 2.5 million passengers.
Facilities
Linate Airport features one three-story passenger terminal building. The ground level contains the check-in and separate baggage reclaim facilities as well as service counters and a secondary departure gate area for bus-boarding. The first floor features the main departure area with several shops, restaurants and service facilities. The second floor is used for office space. The terminal building features five aircraft stands, all of which are equipped with jet-bridges. Several more parking positions are available on the apron which are reached from several bus-boarding gates.
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate scheduled services to and from Linate Airport:
Statistics
Ground transport
Car
The airport is located at Viale Enrico Forlanini next to its intersection with autostradaA51. A51 is part of the city's highway ring, so the airport can be reached from any direction.
Bus and coach
Linate Airport can be reached by local bus service 73 from Piazza Duomo in Milan city centre as well as by coach services from other places within the city. Coaches from and to Monza, Brescia and Milan Malpensa Airport are also run.
On 15 June 2005, a light aircraft safely landed on taxiway 'T' after its pilot had mistaken it for runway 36R. Following that incident, a safety recommendation was issued. It suggested the use of different numbers to help differentiate between runways. This change was enacted at the beginning of July 2007, when 18R/36L became 17/35 and 18L/36R became 18/36.
