Milan Malpensa Airport

Milan MXP non-shengen side. Very convenient for transits as the airport is small compared to the others main international Hubs. The bad point is that boarding is mostly made by non air conditioned bus. During summer it is unbearable as sometimes one can wait for 10 minutes in heavy sun with doors locked. Alitalia business class lounge is a joke. Looks more like a small over crowed bar in central Milan than a proper lounge i.e very few reading materials no internet no showers no toilets no food just few seats and a big TV screen to watch sports events. Dutyfree is very expensive and one can find cheaper prices downtown. Very few shops. A terminal extension is under construction. Let's hope it will look like a real international airport.

I am a first time flyer and I connected at Malpensa on my way to New Delhi India. The airport is quite lovely. It is spacious bright and the information clerk was extremely helpful in assisting me with calling back home to USA. She even gave me her phone card to use at one of the pay phones. Browsing the designer shops can keep you occupied while you wait for your flight to connect. The cafe there serves marvelous food although a little pricey in my opinion (1 bottle of diet coke cost $4.00 US. Bathrooms are clean and comfortable. All in all I think it was a wonderful experience passing through MXP and I look forward to it again.

I frequently use Malpensa as a connecting hub- so I don't have many problems with the remote position. The airport itself is spacious and bright. I do like the design and don't think that it is old fashioned. The sand-stone walls and marble floors are very handsome. Toilets have increased in number and are usually cleaner than in other large European airports and much nicer than in the USA. Restaurants and bars are not too many in number but are very nice and serve excellent food and drink. Duty free shops and other shopping are excellent. Changing flights in Milan is extremely easy compared with most other large airports. Staff are correct and friendly enough- in line with the usual northern Italian style. Overall one of the best airports in Europe- in spite of its reputation!

I had a very unpleasant aggressive encounter with Italian police here when trying to check into area 12 (for BA) a couple of weeks ago. There was a small young gun-toting female officer who appeared to delight in holding up the queue as long as possible and was very rude and obstructive when I had to return to hand in my hold luggage as the facility was not open when I first checked in. Why is there security before the check-in desks as well as all the usual stuff afterwards and why only for BA passengers apparently? A potentially quite pleasant airport spoiled by this (oh and by the lack of clarity in signing food facilities: I ate not very well before setting off for a distant gate area and then discovered much better facilities there!).

I know that the bus to terminal drives me silly and the customs queues are long but yet this huge airport has lots of space great shopping and good road access. It is also very clean compared to many world airports. I feel very safe inside that airport.

For a city known as "the fashion/design capital of the world" recently-built Malpensa is a bad joke. The terminal looks like a tackily revamped bus station.

I have to agree with several comments posted before mine. Once you leave the aircraft at Malpensa you are normally faced with quite a long queue at the passport control. Most of the lines are closed and there is a big confusion as nobody is following the division between EU and non-EU nationals. The baggage delivery has improved a lot in the last year and is now acceptable. The problem comes when you have to reach Milan or worse another town in the area. Taxis will charge you incredible fares better stick to buses or trains. The problem is the time you will need to get to town (45 minutes to 1 hour). Check-in facilities are poor unless you have to leave for the States UK or Israel. In that case the airport is using some safe-check in desks at the very end of the terminal. The strange thing is that once you've checked your luggage you have to exit the safe area and walk all the way back to the main terminal in order to enter the departure area from the usual entrance. It's quite a long walk. The terminal itself is not very nice but at least it's easy to find your way trough it. Restaurants and bars are not first class but are acceptably comfortable.

I agree with the previous comments. Malpensa although recently built has an old fashioned interior and looks like a high class third world airport - rather than a world class European airport. What a waste of money.

I had to use Malpensa to get a connection flight to Athens during the Olympic Summer games. The first impression was that the terminal was a little bit old fashioned the floor is just horrible the windows are dirty and the sofas are ridiculous. The immigration line take a eternity even the european citizens counter was closed. After that I started to look for gate A. I just couldn't find the gate A anywhere. So I asked for some information. The lady looked my boarding pass and said that I had to go downstairs because my airplane would be in a remote position. SoI started to look for the stairs. AgainI just couldn't find it. So I asked for a security guard and he showed me a narrow hall that I was thinking it was a hall to the bathrooms. I went down and I finally found my gate. Milan deserves a better functional and modern airport. The way it's today looks more like a bus terminal than an european airport.

Malpensa is a big airport but not nearly as congested and confusing as some although seating is definitely lacking. The shops are fun if you have a long layover. They do need more and larger bathrooms and need to keep them cleaner. If you take a shuttle from central Milan be sure you get off at the correct terminal as they're not exactly next to each other. The British Airways staff was exceptionally helpful and pleasant and prepared me well for the challenge ahead of me - connecting at Heathrow!