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April 9, 2018Milan Linate Airport Spotting Guide
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- last modified on September 9, 2021
After Malpensa Airport, Linate Airport is the secondary international airport serving Italy’s second largest city, Milan. The airport handles almost ten million a year and it serves as a main base for Alitalia. Linate Airport’s name comes from the small village where it is located although it’s official name is Airport Enrico Forlanini, after the Milanese inventor and aeronautical pioneer.
The airport is only 7km east of the city centre and its capacity is restricted by law to 22 slots per hour. Only domestic and international flights within the EU are permitted. The airport terminal features only five aircraft stands equipped with jet bridges, so most traffic parks out on the apron and passengers are ferried to and from their aircraft by bus.
Although Alitalia is by far Linate’s main airline customer, the airport is also served by a number of other European airlines, including Air France, British Airways, easyJet, KLM, Lufthansa, Iberia and SAS, amongst others. Air Italy also serves the domestic destination of Olbia from Linate. The busiest domestic destinations are Rome Fiumicino, Catania, Naples and Cagliari, whilst internationally the busiest routes are to Paris (Charles de Gaulle and Orly), London (Heathrow and Gatwick), Amsterdam and Frankfurt. The proximity of the airport to the city centre means that it also attracts a good number of business flights.
There are sensors installed at the perimeter fence so be careful and try to avoid a contact.
Guide was written by Clive Grant, Mattia Cosmai (Spot 6 and 10) and Giorgio Varisco (local spotter). Last Update: August 2021
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| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 18/36 | 2.442m (10.171 ft) |
| 17/35 | 601m (1.972 ft) |
| Terminals | Linate was rebuilt in the 1980s and the airport has a single passenger terminal serving all civilian traffic. |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | It is forbidden to use a ladder. But not really needed. |
| Car/Public Transport | A rental car is useful though maybe not essential. For morning photography, a taxi from the terminal to Canzo Cemetery will get you to Spot #1, and you could then gradually walk around the southern end of the airport ending up at Spots #5 & 6 in the afternoon as the sun moves around. There is a bus stop on Via Milano north of Spot #6, although the route, destination and frequency of service is not known. Spot #10 is in walking distance from the terminal. |
| Restrooms | Not at any of the spots, only at the airport terminal or the hotels and eateries on Strada Provinciale/Via Achille Grandi on the east side of the airport. |
| Drinks/Food | In the airport terminal, otherwise at the eateries on Strada Provinciale/Via Achille Grandi on the east side of the airport. |
| Hotels | The NH Linate and Maxim Milano are on Via Achille Grandi, close to Spot #1. The Holiday Inn Milan Linate is a bit further north, just off Via Bruno Buozzi. |
| Season | The weather in Milan is generally better during the summer months, though even then there’s no guarantee of sunshine. In the winter, the north/south alignment of the runway means that there are only about two useable hours of daylight for photography on each side of the runway. However, when the sun isn’t on the runway over the midday period, it’s still possible to take line up shots from Spots #4, 5 & 6. |
| Runway Usage | |
| 18/36 | Used for all commercial traffic and there is a preference for utilising Runway 36 provided the tailwind isn’t too strong. |
| 17/35 | Not known to be in use. |
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The Cemetery car park - All arriving and departing traffic on Runway 18/36
| WHERE | Routeing eastbound from the terminal on SP14, turn right onto SP15b, Via Arnoldo Mondadori. Continue on this route until the roundabout west of the village of Mezzate. 550 metres after the roundabout, turn right onto Via IV Novembre and park in the car park on the left at the end of the road. You have now reached Spot #1. |
| WHAT | All arrivals and departures on Runway 18/36 including traffic on the parallel taxiway. |
| TIME | From sunrise until about 9am in winter; until about 11am in summer. |
| MISC. | This spot requires you to take photos through the narrow mesh of the fence which can be tricky, especially for traffic on the runway. There is shelter and shade under the trees in the car park where you can wait if there is no traffic. No other facilities are available so bring what you need. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 35mm is enough for an A320 on the adjacent taxiway; about 150mm is good for the same type on the runway. |
Terrapieno Embankment - All movements
| WHERE | From Spot #1 past turn around on and take the second right, pass the TNT building and continue until you reach a big parking lot. Just leave the car in the parking nearby and climb the embankment and go near the fence without trespassing it. |
| WHAT | All arrivals and departures on Runway 18/36 including traffic on the parallel taxiway. |
| TIME | From sunrise until about 9am in winter; until about 11am in summer. |
| MISC. | There is no shade and there are no facilities here, so bring what you need. You can take photos from anywhere along the top of the embankment although, for taxiway shots, you’re likely to get the top of the fence in your photos; (see Alitalia E175). Traffic on the runway is clear of the fence from the embankment but in the summer the grass and weed on it is very high with lots of insects so be prepared. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 50mm is enough for an A320 on the adjacent taxiway; about 170mm is good for the same type on the runway. |
Via della Boscana - Landing traffic on Runway 36
| WHERE | Continue walking south from Spot #2 to where the path adjacent to the fence turns to the right by the end of Via della Boscana. If travelling by car, route back along Via IV Novembre, turning right into Via Fratelli Bandiera and right again into Via della Boscana. Park at the end of the road. |
| WHAT | Traffic landing on Runway 36. |
| TIME | From sunrise until about 9am in winter; until about 11am in summer. |
| MISC. | There is no shade and there are no facilities here, so bring what you need. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 150-300mm should cover most things from here. |
Crash Gate - Departures on Runway 36; (arrivals on Runway 36 with difficulty)
| WHERE | Just west of Spot #3 is a crash gate; the gap between the left hand side of the gate and the metal post is just wide enough to allow a camera lens through. |
| WHAT | Traffic lining up on Runway 36 with views of the Alps behind. It is possible to take photos through the fence of traffic landing on Runway 36 but it’s much better to run back towards Spot #3 if possible. |
| TIME | All day during the winter; from about 9am to about 3pm in the summer. Heat haze can be a problem for ground shots on hot days. |
| MISC. | There is no shade and there are no facilities here, so bring what you need. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | About 200mm is OK for an A320 on the taxiway from here. |
Cycle track - 36 Line up and arrivals
| WHERE | Following the perimeter fence from Spot #4 around the extended centreline of Runway 36, you will reach the spot west of the runway at the cycle path. The gaps between some of the tall green poles on the corner angle are wide enough to allow a camera lens through for the line up shots. For arrivals stay at the parking lot (be aware that some trees/bushes disturbing the view). If travelling by car, from the morning arrival spots route back along Via della Boscana turning right into Via Walter Tobagi and right again onto Via Milano. Follow the road northwards around until you pass the houses on the left and turn next left to park by the entrance to the derelict farm. |
| WHAT | Traffic lining up on Runway 36 with views of the Alps behind and arrivals on 36. |
| TIME | Line up from about 9am till sunset. In the morning hours go to the eastern corner of the track, later, at noon, switch to the road. Arrivals are possible from around 1pm until sunset. Heat haze can be a problem for ground shots on hot days. |
| MISC. | The grass might be not cutted properly in the summer and cover parts of the gear. There are some trees spending shadow otherwise there are no facilities here, so bring what you need. ss |
| FOCAL LENGTH | About 200mm is OK for an A320 from here. |
Line-up Morning:
Line-Up Afternoon:
Arrivals Afternoon:
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- Parking – arrival shots
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- Line-up noon
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- Line-up afternoon
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- Gap for the lens
Cycle track - 36 Line up and arrivals
| WHERE | Same direction as above, just a few hundred meters further up on the cycle path. Parking is not directly available here so use the same parking as for #5 and walk up the road. For arrivals stay on the cycle path and for the departures go to the fence which has the same green poles. |
| WHAT | Almost the same view as above but the arrivals have a slightly better angle. |
| TIME | From about 1pm until sunset. Heat haze can be a problem for ground shots on hot days. |
| MISC. | The grass might be not cutted properly in the summer and cover parts of the gear. There are some trees spending shadow otherwise there are no facilities here, so bring what you need. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | A320 on runway = 80mm |
Big gate - All movements
| WHERE | From #6 just continue north on the via Milano and take the next right. There you are. Leave the car on the paved road (without blocking any gate, especially the airport emergency gate) and walk along the unpaved road next to the airport fence. Put your lense through the gap at the crash gate and its pillars. The fence has sensors! |
| WHAT | All movements on 18/36 |
| TIME | From about 1pm until sunset. |
| MISC. | Nothing nearby. Just some restaurants in the nearby village. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-150 mm |
Via Barrace - Taxiway K
| WHERE | From 6 and 7 continue on the main road northwards, drive through the village until the road makes a left turn along the perimeter fence. Park your car on the shoulder and find your prefered position. |
| WHAT | From here only biz jets leaving the runway and heading to the biz-jet terminal can be photographed. They don´t enter the runway from this taxiway! However, during special events such as the Grand Prix of Italy, there will be heavy helicopter traffic and they will use the taxiway K as approach path. |
| TIME | Depends on the angle but from noon it should be fine. Be careful by taking pictures through the fence due to the installed sensors. |
| MISC. | Nothing nearby. Just some restaurants in the nearby village. Be aware of the mosquitoes in the summer. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-100mm |
Fenceside - All runway movements
| WHERE | This spot is located east of the runway easily along the fence – your exact position depends on the subject and angle you wanna shot. Spot can easily be reached from the Eastern side, therefore just exit the big roundabout from “Via Achille Grandi” and take “Via Traversi” directly to the fence. You can park your car here and wlak to the fence or you might also drive down till the fence and park there. You may also continue from there by car and go all way along the fence till the position you wanna go to. |
| WHAT | All runway and taxiway movements. Apart from this, also the southern apron parts. |
| TIME | From sunrise till midday. |
| MISC. | Nothing nearby. Just some restaurants in the nearby villages. Be aware of the mosquitoes in the summer and the heat haze. No ladder recommended. No shadow around, but therefore you may see many police and ground staff cars passing by. Most of them don’t care and if so, they mostly just greet friendly – just do the same! |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 30-300mm Runway: B737-700 = 150mm ///// Taxiway: Challenger 350 = 60mm |
At the southern end just next to the fire station:
In the fence corner at the northern end:
Sidewalk Viale Forlanini - 36 departures, 18 arrivals
| WHERE | The point is located on the sidewalk of the “Viale Forlanini” avenue that connects the city of Milan to the Milan Linate airport. The point is located approximately in the middle of the avenue and is in walking distance from the terminal. Parking is not available there so either use one of the terminal car parks or use the free parking next to some sports field (see map) and walk for approximate 10 minutes to the location. From there use the sidewalk to the terminal and continue on the Viale Forlanini to the spot. |
| WHAT | Departures on runway 36 as well 18 arrivals, but it is very very rare. |
| TIME | From about 1pm until sunset. |
| MISC. | The terminal is just around the corner. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | A321 = 200mm |
4 Comments
Most flights will be moved to Malpensa
I visited spots #1, #2, and #8 in May 2019. All are great for viewing and photography, although the traffic at Linate is limited in variety, of course – a lot of Alitalia and the major European legacy airlines, plus easyJet. A couple of notes:
Spot #1 (cemetery car park) – there’s shade here, which is most welcome. You can hang out in the shade and just approach the fence when an aircraft is passing on the taxiway or runway. There were locals there doing the same thing.
Spot #2 (Terrapieno embankment) – a great location right near the end of runway 36, but the grass and weeds on the embankment were VERY high when I visited. Lots of insects and my legs got scratched up quite a bit by the weeds.
Spot #8 (Linate village) – also a great spot, especially if you walk north along the dirt track parallel to the fence. Bring insect repellent as there were LOTS of mosquitoes. I was there for about an hour and got probably 10-15 mosquito bites!
Good day James. Thanks for your feedback. I left some hints in the guide.
-Julian
Hello,
I understand Linate will be closed from the beginning of August till the end of October, but what is going to happen to the resident/visiting corporate flights during this period ? Are they going to Malpensa, Bergamo
or somewhere else ?