sparkj

Hi guys, I am travelling to MXP in mid-October and I have read that because LIN is under refurbishment, there may be congestion at MXP, resulting in extra time needed to get through the security/immigration.
Does anyone have experience with this and give me me some idea of how long I might need to buffer?
I am planning to travel to the Milan Central station to take a train to Florence after I land and want to book ahead of time to get a cheaper rate.
Thanks!

Up In The Air

It depends on what time of day you're flying in and which passport you hold; and if you have checked baggage.

I recently flew in to MXP T1 from MAN on BE in the early afternoon. A flight had just arrived from Asia or the Middle East and there was a very long queue at immigration–which looked as if it could take the passengers at the back of the queue at least an hour to clear. The area was packed. (Having an EU passport–for the moment at least–allowed me to get through in a matter of minutes through the appropriate channel.)

In my experience MXP getting through MXP can be painfully slow at certain times of the day (such as the early afternoon). It always seems as if there are fewer immigration officers and baggage handlers at work during lunch and dinner times; but have no real evidence to back this claim.

Trains from MXP to Milano Centrale depart every 30 minutes during the day and will often take the best part of an hour to arrive.

From touchdown you could make Milano Centrale in less than two hours (if all the stars line up)–but it could take well over three (or more).

If it were me I'd calculate the time taken for the worst case scenario–then double it! If you get to Milano Centrale early you can always use the spare time wandering around this magnificent building.

KLouis

Adding to the absolutely correct info provided by Up In The Air: While waiting, you can also eat the best patatine fritte () I've ever had in a fast food outlet. My son, an expert junk food eater (I'm not one myself) agrees with me. I don't remember the place's name, it's the one at the far right of the head platform, facing the trains. I hope it's still there (train station stores often change).

Murphy123

This is why we will be staying our first night in Milan. Our ultimate destination is also Florence and within a week of booking our flights the time of departure changed and we are now supposed to land 2 hours later than originally planned.

We can't book our train tickets as yet, but had we been able to that 2 hours (and it will likely change a few more times) would have probably cost us our reservation. Of course security etc. for non-EU residents could also be tight.