ICAO Code | LIMC/MXP |
Last Validated | May 2011 |
City | Milano |
Position | 45°37'54"N 008°43'40"E |
Runway(s) | 17L/35R, 17R/35L |
Elevation | 768 ft |
Of the two Milan airports Malpensa is the one with growth potential, and the biggest one indeed. To accommodate for increasing capacity a location no less than 40 km northwest of the city centre was chosen. Obviously Alitalia dominates traffic, together with a few other Italian companies. International flights comprise mostly European airlines, including some cargo/parcel carriers. AgustaWestland has its headquarters on the field and helicopters are also operated here by the police and fire brigade.
Photography is not always easy at Malpensa but the spotting is good. However, our hobby is hardly understood and not always appreciated in Italy. At this airport, police have told spotters to move on and even fined them. In recent years, the situation seems to have improved, possibly thanks to an active local group of enthusiasts. Still please behave in a responsible manner and stay away from sensitive areas. Try not to attract attention.
The airport lies in flat terrain, just south of the foothills of the Italian Alps. Two parallel runways have one terminal between their northern ends (Terminal 2) and one on the west side (Terminal 1). Runways 35L and 35R are mostly preferred. Normally 35L is used for landings and 35R for departures. At exactly 15.00 hours in the afternoon, this is switched. There is no such switch for runways 17L and 17R: 17L is for take-offs, 17R for landings.
More handling areas, including a large cargo centre, are on this side of the field. The AgustaWestland headquarters have their own area on the east side and the Vigili del Fuoco resides south of that. The perimeter is partially quite far from the runways and partly lined with forest and other barriers, leaving just a few spots along the fence to be useful.
Malpensa has the ground connections you would expect from an airport this size. Highway SS336 connects to the A8, straight to the city centre. Terminal 1 has a train station, also with direct connections to the city and multiple bus lines run to a lot of neighbouring towns and villages. However, the spotting points on the east side of the airport cannot be reached by public transport, so you will need a car for them.
B767 of TAM Brasil, landing on 35R and photographed by Marco van Halum from spot 7.
Another shot from spot 7, Air Alps Do328 in attractive special livery. (Marco van Halum)
120.900 | Clearance, Start-up & Ground (west) |
121.850 | Ground north |
119.000 | Tower (rwy 17L/35R) |
128.350 | Tower (rwy 17R/35L) |
126.300 | Departure (south) |
126.750 | Departure (north) |
132.700 | Arrival |
120.025 | ATIS (arr) |
121.650 | ATIS (dep) |
Civil operators | |
Air Italy | B737, B767 |
Cargolux Italia | B747-400F |
Livingston | A320, A330 |
Neos | B737, B767 |
Paramilitary operators | |
Vigili del Fuoco | AB206 |
2° Reparto Volo, Polizia di Stato | A109, AB206, AB212, P68 |
Milan Airports | Official website |
Agusta museum | Official website, in Italian. |
Volandia Museum | Official website. |
Italian order of battle | by Scramble |
Malpensa Spotters Group | A local enthusiasts page (in Italian) with forum, guide and photos. |
Malpensa Spotter | Local enthusiast site |
G Air | Enthusiast site with page on Malpensa |
Aviano | |
Bergamo - Orio al Serio   | |
Bolzano | |
Bracciano   | |
Decimomannu | |
Frosinone (Girolamo Moscardini)   | |
Ghedi   | |
Latina   | |
Milano - Linate | |
Milano - Malpensa | |
Piacenza-San Damiano   | |
Pratica di Mare   | |
Roma - Ciampino (Giovanni Battista Pastine)   | |
Treviso - Istrana | |
Varese - Venegono (Arturo Ferrarin)   | |
Vergiate   | |
Viterbo   |
As a member you get access to all our
premium content and benefits learn more