With three international airports, Milan is an amazing transportation hub to travel all around Europe and even further out. The time needed from Milan to the airports is fairly short – less than an hour and you’re already sitting in the lounge, ready for take-off.
This blog post will explain all about airports in Milan and how to reach the airports from the city in the best and easiest ways.
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AIRPORTS IN MILAN
There are three major international airports in Milan:
- Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP),
- Bergamo Airport (BGY) and
- Milan Linate Airport (LIN)
All three airports in Milan operate with traditional airlines as well as low-cost airlines, such as Easy Jet, Ryanair or Wizzair.
MILAN MALPENSA AIRPORT (MXP)
Milan Malpensa is Milan’s largest international airport, so high chances are your flight will either depart from or arrive here. Despite being the largest, Milan Malpensa has two little downsides:
- Milan Malpensa is the furthest from Milan. Its location is about 40km (25 miles) north-west of the city center
- There are two terminals at Milan Malpensa Airport: terminal 1 for traditional airlines and terminal 2, reserved for low-cost airlines. The terminals are far apart from one another, but there is a free shuttle service operating every 7min that connects the two. Anyways, always better to double-check your terminal of departure/arrival 🙂
How to reach Milan Malpensa Airport?
There are 3 ways how you can reach Milan Malpensa airport:
BY TRAIN
Two types of train services connect Milan Malpensa to the city – the Malpensa Express train and Trenitalia. While Trenitalia is a national train company, Malpensa Express is a fast train, leaving every 30 minutes from Milano Centrale, Cadorna, or Garibaldi. The train connects Milan to Terminal 1. The train tickets cost 13€.
BY BUS
A permanent bus service runs every day between 4 am and 11 pm. The ride takes nearly an hour and costs as low as 10€ per journey.
BY TRANSFER SERVICE
Since taxi rides are extremely expensive, I recommend using a shuttle service like Goopti. With Goopti, you can choose between private or group transfers, with costs around 30eur (but with all the comfort of a taxi!). I’ve traveled with them (also alone) many times and never had a bad experience.
BERGAMO AIRPORT (BGY)
The Bergamo Airport (officially Orio Al Serio Airport) is located next to the city of Bergamo, which is about 50min north of Milan. It’s also the smallest of the three airports in Milan.
If your flight departs/arrives from Bergamo Airport, I highly recommend leaving a few hours earlier and visiting the city of Bergamo. See the must-do things in Bergamo if you only have a couple hours.
How to reach Bergamo Airport?
There are several ways to reach Bergamo Airport, with the most common being buses and trains. Both transfers take about the same time and cost more or less the same. It comes down to a matter of preference.
If you decide on a bus ride, pay attention to where your bus leaves from. The bus station for buses from Milano Centrale to Bergamo is located on the right side of the station (where Starbucks is).
TICKETS: Instead of searching endlessly through the websites of each of the providers of buses and trains, I always use Omio, where you can find all transfers from all companies already gathered on one page. Omio makes it super easy to compare also the prices and types of transport!
There’s currently an offer for 5% off train or bus travel in Italy, with the discount applied at checkout!
Reaching Bergamo Airport by bus: Countless bus companies drive from different parts of Milan to Bergamo Airport and vice versa – Autostradale, Flixbus, and Orio Shuttle, to name a few.
Reaching Bergamo Airport by train: Mind that if you take a train you’ll need to hop on a bus for the airport at the Bergamo train station as there’s no train station at Bergamo airport.
You can choose to travel by taxi. A taxi ride from Bergamo Airport to Milan (or vice versa) will cost you roughly 100€. A slightly cheaper and equally comfortable alternative is the Goopti shuttle for currently 20 €.
MILAN LINATE AIRPORT (LIN)
Milan Linate is the second largest international airport in Milan. The airport is located to the east, no further than 7km from Milan.
How to reach Milan Linate Airport?
Milan Linate still counts as part of the city of Milan. Therefore, the airport is easily reachable and well connected by Milan’s public transportation system.
Currently, the best and cheapest way to reach the airport is by the new blue metro line (M4) from San Babila that opened in 2023. Not many cities can brag about having the option to reach the airport in 20 minutes.
OTHER OPTIONS
If you’re traveling to or want to reach Milano Centrale (the train station), a good alternative is to take the direct shuttle service, operating daily between 7.30 am and 9 pm for a price of 5eur (or 9eur return ticket). The shuttle service from Milano Centrale to Linate stops in Milano Lambrate and takes 25min.
Hi, it's Neja
I am an expat from Slovenia,
living in Milan since 2021 and writing a travel blog for all of you who are curious about life in Italy or traveling in Europe.
Follow me on my journey and learn everything about Italy and the European destinations.
