ITA Airways will discontinue the Milan-New York flight in January, the airline's last remaining flight from Malpensa.
On January 8, 2024, ITA AIrways will close a long chapter in the history of Italian commercial aviation. At 10.45 local time, flight AZ 605 will land at Milan Malpensa Airport, arriving from New York's JFK Airport, marking the last service to be operated by Italian carrier ITA Airways at Malpensa Airport.
ITA Airways, the airline created in 2021 from the ashes of Alitalia, will leave Malpensa airport completing an important stage in Italian commercial aviation.
Under its various names, the Italian carrier Alitalia maintained a presence at Malpensa Airport from the start of commercial operations in 1948 until October 2020, when the last remaining flight to Rome Fiumicino was suspended and there were no further services from this airport.
New ITA Airways, considered Italy's national carrier, has resumed service to New York-JFK, the only long-haul flight operated out of its main hub at Rome's Fiumicino Airport.
ITA Airways will continue to fly from Milan Linate Airport, but without long-haul flights because it has a short runway. Linate has limited capacity, with traffic restricted to 18 aircraft movements per hour, but ITA Airways holds approximately 70% of the landing and takeoff slots at the airport.
Being only eight kilometers from Milan, Linate is ideal for short-haul flights to European destinations, while Malpensa Airport is located almost 50 kilometers from the city and can only be accessed by car or train.