Milan Malpensa Airport is an international airport in Ferno, in the Province of Varese, Lombardy, Italy. It is the largest airport in northern Italy, serving Lombardy, Piedmont, and Liguria, as well as the Swiss canton of Ticino. It is located northwest of Milan, next to the Ticino river dividing Lombardy and Piedmont. The airport is located inside the Parco Naturale Lombardo Della Valle Del Ticino, a nature reserve included by UNESCO in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The airport was opened in 1909 by Giovanni Agusta and Gianni Caproni to test their aircraft prototypes, before switching to civil operation in 1948.
Malpensa Airport is ninth in the world and sixth in Europe for the number of countries served with direct flights. In 2024, Malpensa Airport handled 28.5 million passengers and was the 22nd-busiest airport in Europe in terms of passengers and second-busiest airport in Italy in terms of passengers after Rome Fiumicino Airport. It is the busiest airport in Italy for freight and cargo, handling over 730,000 tons of international freight annually (2024).
Together with Milan Bergamo Airport and Milan Linate Airport, it forms the Milan airport system with 56.9 million passengers in 2024, the largest airport system in Italy by number of passengers.
History
Early years Aviation activities on the site of today's Malpensa Airport began on 27 May 1910, when the Caproni brothers flew a Cal biplane. In the following years, many aircraft prototypes took off from the same site; eventually, it was decided to upgrade the farming patch to a more formal airfield. Both Gianni Caproni and Giovanni Agusta established factories on the new site; the airfield soon developed into the largest aircraft production centre in Italy. During the 1920s and 1930s, the airfield hosted two squadrons of the Regia Aeronautica Italiana (Italian Air Force). It was for advanced flight training held by an air bombing and gunnery school.
In September 1943, Malpensa airfield was taken over by the Luftwaffe after northern Italy was invaded by Nazi Germany. Soon after their arrival, the Germans laid the airfield's first concrete runway. It was designated as Flugpatz 368 by the Luftwaffe and ANR Aeroporto N. 6 by the Regia Aeronautica, and was known by a number of names including Gallarate, Gallarate-Malpensa, Cascina-Malpensa, Cascina Costa, Vizzola Ticono, Gaspare Bolla, Adalberto Campaci, and Luigi Bailo. The airfield was split into three sides, which was the Malpensa side on the north, Cascina Costa side on the east, and Vizolla Ticono side on the west. This design was done intentionally to give the impression of three airfields to Allied forces. On the Vizolla Ticono side, a distribution and maintenance depot was installed for Bf 109 fighters, and it was also used by the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana. There were 3 medium hangars and 5 buildings for repair workshops and stores. On the Gallarate side, there were 3 large hangars were on the northern boundary, and 1 large and 1 medium hangars on the western boundary. On the Cascina Costa side, there were 2 medium hangars and 2 buildings for workshops.
After the cessation of hostilities during the Second World War, manufacturers and politicians of the Milan and Varese regions, led by banker Benigno Ajroldi of Banca Alto Milanese, restored the airfield. They aimed to make it an industrial fulcrum for the post-war recovery of Italy. The main runway, heavily damaged by German troops as they retreated from northern Italy, was rebuilt and extended to . A small wooden terminal was constructed to protect goods and passengers from bad weather.
2010s Responding to Alitalia's pullout, the operator SEA launched an all-out publicity programme and aggressively marketed Malpensa Airport around the world. As a result, from 2008 to 2011, a total of 34 new passenger and cargo routes were added to Malpensa's network.
The low-cost carrier EasyJet made Malpensa its main base after London Gatwick, with more than 20 of its Airbus A319s and Airbus A320s based there. Competitor Ryanair confirmed plans to open an operating base at Malpensa from December 2015, initially with one aircraft.
In 2014, a contract was awarded for the extension of the railway line from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2. The line was opened in December 2016. The new Malpensa Terminal 2 railway station is north of the T2 arrivals hall, that is accessed by an outdoor covered walkway.
2020s On 5 July 2024, Italian minister of infrastructure and transport Matteo Salvini announced that Malpensa Airport would officially be named after former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, following ENAC's approval of a request by the regional government of Lombardy from 2023. ENAC officially changed the name to on 11 July 2024.
On 20 August 2025, the airport was partially evacuated after a man set fire to a check-in area and attacked digital screens with a hammer before being subdued and detained.
Terminals Malpensa Airport has two passenger terminals and they are connected by free airport shuttle buses and trains. Passengers can travel to and from the airport using both train and shuttle bus services. The main operators serving these routes are the Malpensa Express rail service operated by Trenord, and bus companies including Flibco and Autostradale.
Terminal 1 Terminal 1, which opened in 1998, is the newer, larger and more prominent terminal. The terminal is divided into three sections and handles most passengers on scheduled as well as charter flights: Concourse A handles domestic and intra-Schengen flights. Concourse B handles non-Schengen and intercontinental flights. Concourse C (B2), opened in January 2012, handles non-Schengen, intercontinental flights and security-sensitive flights to the USA and Israel.
Terminal 2 Terminal 2 is the older terminal. It was closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and reopened on 31 May 2023. easyJet has been the sole tenant of Terminal 2 since all charter services, which were previously based in Terminal 2, moved to Terminal 1 upon the latter's opening.
Airlines and destinations Passenger The following airlines operate regular scheduled, seasonal and charter flights to and from Malpensa:
Cargo The following airlines operate regular cargo services to and from Malpensa:
Statistics Traffic
+ Milan Malpensa Airport – traffic information Years Movements % variation Passengers % variation Cargo (tons) % variation 2000 13.3 22.1 4.6 2001 5.1 10.4 7.5 2002 9.1 6.1 1.4 2003 0.6 1 10.5 2004 2.1 5.3 13.1 2005 4.4 5.8 6.5 2006 8.7 10.9 8,9 2007 8.3 9.7 16.1 2008 18.5 19.5 14.5 2009 14.2 8.7 17.3 2010 3.3 8 25.8 2011 1.5 1.8 4.1 2012 8.4 4 8 2013 5.8 3.1 3.9 2014 1.2 5 9.1 2015 3.8 1.4 8.8 2016 4 4.5 7.4 2017 7.3 14.2 7.5 2018 8.7 11.5 2.9 2019 20.3 16.7 2.5 2020 60.5 74.9 7.5 2021 118,341 28.0 9,622,464 32.9 747,242 44.6 2022 186,626 57.7 21,347,652 121.9 721,255 3.5 2023 201,958 8.2 26,076,714 22.2 671,908 6.8 2024 214,511 6.2 28,910,368 10.9 731,641 8.9 2025 226,304 5.3 31,234,229 8.7 764,171 4.2
Busiest domestic routes + Busiest domestic routes to/from Milan Malpensa (2023) Rank Rankvar.(prev. year) Airport PassengersAirline(s) 1 Catania, Sicily 1,066,600 easyJet, Neos Air, Ryanair, Wizz Air 2 Palermo, Sicily 809,824 easyJet, Ryanair3 Naples, Campania 681,008 easyJet, Ryanair4 Bari, Apulia 494,199 easyJet, Ryanair5 Brindisi, Apulia 436,195 easyJet, Neos Air, Ryanair6 Olbia, Sardinia 340,245 easyJet, Neos Air, Wizz Air7 1 Lamezia Terme, Calabria 267,827 easyJet, Neos Air, Ryanair8 1 Cagliari, Sardinia 263,010 easyJet, Neos Air, Ryanair
Busiest EU routes + Busiest EU routes from/to Milan Malpensa (2023) Rank Rankvar.(prev. year)Airport Passengers Airline(s)1 Barcelona, Spain 996,626easyJet, Ryanair, Singapore Airlines, Vueling, Wizz Air2 Paris–Charles de Gaulle, France 824,257 Air France, easyJet3 Madrid, Spain 723,736Air Europa, Iberia, Ryanair, Wizz Air4 Lisbon, Portugal 607,425 easyJet, TAP Portugal5 2 Athens, Thessaloniki, Greece 520,479 6 1 Amsterdam, Netherlands 489,345easyJet, KLM,7 1 Vienna, Austria 382,004Austrian Airlines, Ryanair8 1 Frankfurt, Germany 334,927 Air Dolomiti, Lufthansa9 7 Prague, Czech Republic 328,857 Czech Airlines, easyJet, Wizz Air10 1 Copenhagen, Denmark 315,126 easyJet, Scandinavian Airlines11 2 Málaga, Spain 262,043 easyJet, Ryanair12 2 Paris–Orly, France 260,554Transavia, Vueling13 1 Munich, Germany 235,293 Air Dolomiti, easyJet, Lufthansa14 3 Porto, Portugal 232,153 easyJet, Ryanair, TAP Portugal15 5 Budapest, Hungary 222,141 Ryanair, Wizz Air16 6 Palma de Mallorca, Spain 217,238 easyJet, Neos Air, Ryanair17 2 Ibiza, Spain 201,775 easyJet, Neos Air, Vueling18 Helsinki, Finland 196,803 Finnair19 9 Tenerife, Spain 195,314 easyJet, Neos, Ryanair, Wizz Air
Busiest non-EU routes + Busiest non-EU routes from/to Milan Malpensa (2023) Rank Rankvar.(prev. year) City Passengers Airline(s)1 New York–JFK, New York, United States 981,030 2 London–Gatwick, England 691,156 easyJet, Wizz Air3 Dubai–International, United Arab Emirates 558,974 Emirates4 Istanbul, Turkey 520,763 Turkish Airlines5 2 Doha, Qatar 486,648 Qatar Airways6 1 Tirana, Albania 390,687 Air Albania, Wizz Air7 1 Tel Aviv, Israel 360,694Arkia, easyJet, El Al, Neos Air, Wizz Air8 2 London–Stansted, England 354,963Ryanair9 London–Heathrow, England 315,813British Airways10 1 Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt 284,264 Air Horizont, AlbaStar, easyJet, Neos Air, Wizz Air11 1 Manchester, England 260,934 easyJet, Ryanair12 Cairo, Egypt 247,835 Air Cairo, Egypt Air, Neos Air13 4 Marrakesh, Morocco 195,444 easyJet, Ryanair, Wizz Air14 1 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 195,186 Etihad Airways15 1 Newark, New Jersey, United States 194,795 La Compagnie, United Airlines16 6 Marsa Alam, Egypt 186,419 Air Cairo, AlbaStar, easyJet, Neos Air17 2 São Paulo-Guarulhos, Brazil 161,249 LATAM Brasil18 3 Reykjavík, Iceland 158,512 easyJet, Icelandair, Wizz Air19 13 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 147,815 Saudia, Wizz Air20 1 Oslo, Norway 144,999 easyJet, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines21 3 Casablanca, Morocco 134,521 Royal Air Maroc
Movements by country + European Union countries with passenger movementsfrom/to Milan Malpensa Airport (2018) Rank Rankvar.(prev. year) Country Passengers 2018 1 Italy 4,093,221 2 Spain 2,559,852 3 1 Germany 1,805,491 4 1 United Kingdom 1,717,631 5 France 1,396,510 6 The Netherlands 841,773 7 Greece 652,323 8 Portugal 644,147 9 2 Austria 377,548 10 Denmark 367,156 11 2 Belgium 337,648 12 Czech Republic 304,878 13 Hungary 240,128 14 1 Poland 232,147 15 1 Finland 198,838 16 Luxembourg 147,866 17 Romania 119,021 18 Bulgaria 114,080 19 Sweden 109,465 20 1 Lithuania 75,768 21 1 Ireland 71,749 22 1 Estonia 36,937 23 1 Cyprus 34,714 24 Malta 10,198
Ground transport Rail
The airport is served by two train stations, one at each terminal.
Malpensa Express
Malpensa Express is a direct train connection between Terminal 2, Terminal 1 and Milan's city centre.
As of 2019, its service is based on a clock-face timetable with four services per hour in both directions: two run between the two airport terminals and Milan Cadorna station; the other two between the two airport terminals, Milan Garibaldi and Milan Centrale stations. All services call at Busto Arsizio Nord, Saronno (connections for Como, Novara and Varese) and Milan Bovisa stations.
The journey time ranges between 30 and 50 minutes, depending on the type of service and the number of stops.
Other train services TiLo operates services to Bellinzona in Switzerland.
Milan's Suburban Line S10 (Milano Rogoredo–Milano Bovisa) ran to Malpensa Airport/Aeroporto from June 2010. Trains called at Ferno, Busto Arsizio, Castellanza, Rescaldina, Saronno, Milano Bovisa, Milano Lancetti, Milano Porta Garibaldi M2-M5, Milano Repubblica M3, Milano Porta Venezia M1, Milano Dateo and Milano Porta Vittoria. The service was terminated in October 2012.