One Hour Connection in Milan. Too Short??
 

I am looking at a routing that would take me from ATL-SKG (Thessaloniki).

On Skyteam.com, I entered ATL-SKG, and it popped up with the direct ATL-MXP Delta flight arriving at 9am, with a 10am connection on Alitalia to SKG. Having never been through Milan, is this even doable?

The only other routing with a direct flight over the ocean from ATL would require a 8+ hour layover in Rome.

Depends on the security check. If the arriving & departing gates are in the same terminal, it should be enough. I had a 1:45 hour connection once and barely made it. Security check was longer than JFK cause Italian Police was slow and rude. The line was moving 1 person/minute so when I asked if I can jump infront of the line as my flight was about to leave, she said (in a broken accent) "This is Europe sir, not America." :confused:

One hour may be pushing it. In MXP, you have to be rescreened, even with connecting flights. When I went, there wasn't a line...it was a mass of people all surging forward aimlessly. A stampede would have had more organization.

On the other hand, I landed at 8 am. About an hour later (when I finally got through the checkpoints), the place had cleared out pretty decently...so maybe your 9 am arrival will be the latest one, and you'll get through pretty quickly.

If they are in different terminals then I think 1 hour is too short. From what I recall MXP has some buses that run back and forth between the terminals, but with security, etc. I would choose a later flight if possible.

All Skyteam flights are from the main terminal. There will be no bus involved.

I also don't understand why others had to go through Security again if staying in the main terminal. When I have flew TLV-MXP-ATL I simply went from one plane to the next, without going through either passport control or Security.

(On some other occassions, when I had enough time, I went out of the terminal for a smoke and that meant going through Passport Control in both directions, as well as Security upon re-entry.)

Sitting at MXP the second time this week, flying ZRH-MXP-TRS and back I also wondered about the security checks. Even when just in transit there are security checks:

* when arriving from outside of Schengen countries and entering the terminal
* when leaving the Schengen side of Terminal 1 to enter the international (non-Schengen) side just before passport control.

Lines were short and from airplane to the new gate (or lounge) took me under 15 minutes each time.

Minimum Connection Transfer Time at Milan (MXP): The Definitive Thread
 

Hi All,

Next Saturday, my parents will be flying BizElite from JFK to MXP, connecting to AZ in Y to Palermo (single class flight). The flights are on two separate PNRs. They had a few questions that I could not answer (only been though MXP twice and not for three years), so I thought you good people could help.

1. I know they'll clear immigration at MXP, but customs too? I assume, like in Germany, they will not have to reclaim their bags for customs in MXP, correct?

2. Is there a flight connections facility, or do they need to go out to the main AZ check-in area?

3. I know they are both in the same terminal, but is it easy to get to the AZ domestic check-in area from international arrivals?

4. They are flying-in on BizElite and have a four hour layover. Since their connection flight is in Y and they have no status, I assume there is no lounge access, correct?

5. Is there a way to buy entry into the AZ lounge (I assume AZ is like the othe European airlines and the answer is no, but figured I'd check)?

6. They are concerned about their bags getting lost in the transfer from DL to AZ and wanted to know if it was a better idea to just check them to MXP and then re-check them wiuth AZ at MXP. Any thoughts?

7. Finally, assuming they will not have lounge access, is there any nearby thing to do outside the airport to kill an hour or so (I know Milan itself is too far from the airport)?

Thanks, I appreciate any help you can provide.

Hi. MXP is a pretty easy airport to navigate. At Alitalia peak atlantic arrival time 730am-830am it can be a bit of a disaster, but by the time the Delta 763 gets in it should be pretty no-hassle.

Correct, they will clear passport control, but will not need to clear customs, unless of course they decide to pick up their bags, which I really don't think is necessary. MXP is a hub airport and is pretty well versed at bag transfers.

There is a transit desk where they can check in if necessary, but Delta should issues boarding passes for the MXPPMO leg as well.

As far as I know there is essentially nothing near the airport.

If they are flying Delta BizE they should have access to an arrival lounge to hang in for the 4 hours. Also, if the entire ticket is a business class ticket (this is possible even though the Alitalia flight is all Y), then Alitalia will probably grant lounge access.

Hope this helps. They should have shot for the Alitalia JFKMXP flight on a 777...so much nicer the Delta's old 763.

jf841 what a helpful first post. Welcome to FT ^

Thanks!

Where is the MXP arrivals lounge?

Any other thoughts on my questions?

Except that the tickets are on separate PNRs - Delta will only be able to check them in as far as MXP from JFK.

If there's an arrivals lounge, they'll have access but as it's on separate tickets, I doubt Alitalia would grant access to its departure lounge.

Welcome to FT, jf841!

And if Alitalia's departure lounges are overpacked (as they were even this past Sunday morning), they may prefer avoiding the lounge or finding an alternative.

So has anyone actually been to the MXP Arrivals lounge?

If so, where is it?

Thanks!

Is 1:15 hr connection time thru MXP too tight?
 

I just booked a SkySaver coach award from Chicago (ORD) to Venice in Jun 2007. It is on Alitalia and has one connection through Milan. The TATL flight arrives MXP at 8:35am and the flight to VCE leaves at 9:50am giving us a 1:15 hr layover.

I have not done any significant international travel to make sound judgments regarding the scheduled connection time. I fear that the 1:15 hr layover is too short because I assume we have to pass through customs/immigration and that sort of thing. And if our flight from ORD arrives to MXP a tad late......

The next MXP-VCE flight is 2:35pm which means a 6 hr layover at MXP. I know a logical plan would be to keep the 9:50am flight to VCE and if we miss the connection, fly out on the 2:35pm flight. But there may be up to 4 of us on this trip (incl our 2 children) and the thought of successfully rebooking all 4 people worries me (can't leave anyone behind!).

My specific question to all of you: is the 1:15 hr connection time thru MXP is too tight? Should I bite the bullet and just rebook for the latter 2:35pm flight out of MXP (assuming an award seat is available)?

On the occassions I've transitted MXP, the only slowdown I've experienced was a line to pass through security (from the ticket counters). If all things are on schedule and there is nothing abnormal, it will be an easy connection. I have a 1 hr. connection there next month and I'm not worried. Delays can cause you to misconnect at any airport and MXP is no better or worse than many others.

Your luggage, however, is a different matter as MXP seems to be sort of a black hole when it comes to luggage...

All in all, I wouldn't be worried...