So far, the abbreviation “LIN” on the pictograms on Ryanair's boarding passes was more of a running gag, the Irish low-cost truck does not fly to this airport at all. That will soon change, because slots were secured in Milan-Linate. The competitor Wizz Air will also take off at the inner-city airport.

Ryanair initially intends to connect the cities of Brussels and Berlin with Linate. The Hungarian competitor will fly to Catania within Italy. Both carriers plan to start the new routes around the end of June. For many years, Alitalia has largely managed to keep lowcosters away, as take-off and landing rights are extremely rare at this airport. Only Easyjet was able to secure a few slots.

The corona pandemic and the troubled financial situation of Alitalia have meant that the Italian slot coordinator had to reassign take-off and landing rights in Linate due to the regulations of the European Union. Ryanair and Wizz Air have been on a waiting list for a long time and have now been awarded the contract that must be used in the current summer flight schedule period 2021.

The crane group was also allocated slots

The Lufthansa Group, namely Air Dolomiti and Austrian Airlines, were also awarded take-off and landing rights in Linate, according to the Italian coordinator. While the first-mentioned airline offers a connection to Munich, which could be increased, the AUA is currently only active in Malpensa. It is still open whether the crane group will actually use the allocated slots.

The Milan region has three international airports. Linate is located within the urban area and was previously considered the stronghold of Alitalia. Bergamo is mainly used by lowcosters and plays an important role in the freight sector. Milan was planned as a major airport, but has been on the decline for many years as most airlines are keen on flights from Linate. More information about the three Milan airports in this article.