Milan Linate (LIN) Airport Guide 2026 — M4 Metro, Terminals & Transfers

Milan Linate (LIN) — The Complete 2026 Airport Guide

Here is the one thing that changed Linate: the M4 metro now runs from the terminal door to San Babila, in the heart of Milan, in about 12 minutes — on a normal €2.20 city ticket, the same one you’d buy for any tram. Malpensa is 50 km out and charges you a special train fare; Linate is 7 km out and treats you like a local. If you can fly into LIN, do.

Last verified: July 2026. Fares, transport timetables and Schengen entry rules change often — confirm the specifics on your ticket and at official signage before you travel.

Quick reference

The headline: Linate is now a €2.20 metro ride from the centre

For decades Linate’s pitch was “close, but you still need a bus or a cab.” That is over. The M4 (Blue Line) metro, built out in stages and fully operational since 2023–24, now starts right under the terminal and runs straight into the city. From the arrivals hall you tap through and you are at San Babila — a block from the Duomo — in about 12 minutes.

The part people don’t believe until they do it: it costs €2.20, the ordinary ATM urban ticket. There is no airport supplement. The same ticket is valid for 90 minutes across the whole metro, tram and bus network, so you can ride the M4 in and change to another line on the same fare. Contactless is accepted — tap your bank card or phone straight at the turnstile, no paper ticket needed.

San Babila is on the M1 (red line), so Duomo is one stop further — realistically 15 minutes airport-to-cathedral, door to door, for €2.20. Change at Sant’Ambrogio for the M2 (green) or ride M4 to its western end at San Cristoforo. The line runs roughly 06:00 to 00:30, every few minutes at peak.

Linate vs Malpensa vs Bergamo — which Milan airport is which

Milan has three airports and they are not interchangeable. Book the wrong one and you’ll pay for it in transfer time and taxi fare.

• Linate (LIN) — the close-in one, 7 km east. Short-haul and domestic on full-service carriers, ITA Airways’ northern base, plus easyJet, Lufthansa Group and other European lines. This is the convenient, business-traveller airport.
• Malpensa (MXP) — the big intercontinental hub, about 50 km northwest. Every long-haul flight to/from Milan leaves from here. Reached by the Malpensa Express train (~50 min) or coach.
• Bergamo / Orio al Serio (BGY) — the low-cost base ~45 km northeast, Ryanair’s stronghold. No rail link; you take a coach into Milan (~1 hour).

The reason Linate has no long-haul is a rule, not an accident. Under Italy’s traffic-distribution regulations — the old “Linate bond” — the airport is restricted to point-to-point flights within Italy, the EU/EEA, the UK and Switzerland, and its hourly slots are capped. Anything intercontinental is pushed to Malpensa by law. That is why you can fly Linate to London, Paris, Frankfurt or Geneva, but never Linate to New York.

Getting into Milan

Because Linate is so close, every option is quick — the choice is really about price and where you’re staying. Here’s the honest comparison.

The M4 metro — take it unless you specifically need Centrale

Covered above: €2.20, ~12 minutes to San Babila, one more stop to Duomo on the M1. The station is inside the terminal complex, so there’s no walk in the weather. For almost everyone heading into central Milan, this is simply the answer.

Air Bus and coaches to Milano Centrale

If your hotel or onward train is at Milano Centrale, the M4 doesn’t go there directly, so the airport bus can win. The Air Bus (run by Autostradale for ATM) links Linate and Centrale in about 25 minutes for €5 single, €9 return, roughly every 30 minutes from around 06:00 to 23:30, with an intermediate stop at Piazzale Dateo where you can change to the M4. A rival operator, Starfly, runs the same route for about the same price. Buy on board or from the machines; you don’t need to pre-book.

Taxis

Take only the official white taxis from the marked rank outside arrivals — ignore anyone touting inside the terminal. Unlike Malpensa and the Rho fairgrounds, Linate to central Milan has no fixed flat fare: the meter runs, and a ride to the centre typically lands around €20–30 depending on traffic and time of day, with small night and luggage supplements. Make sure the meter is switched on when you set off. A taxi across town to Malpensa is a fixed ~€110 — a useful number to know, and a good reason to double-check which airport your onward flight actually leaves from.

Entry: Schengen, EES and ETIAS

Italy is in the Schengen Area, so an arrival from another Schengen country involves no passport control at all. If you’re arriving from outside Schengen — or you’re a non-EU national — two things are worth knowing for 2026.

• EES is live. The EU’s Entry/Exit System went into operation across Schengen on 10 April 2026. Non-EU travellers now have fingerprints and a facial image registered on first entry instead of getting a passport stamp. It is a one-off enrolment that speeds up later trips, but in these early months it can add time to the non-EU arrivals queue, especially at peak. Build in a buffer if you’re connecting onward.
• ETIAS is not required yet. The visa-waiver travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors (US, UK, Canada, Australia and others) is expected to start late 2026. As of July 2026 you do not need it to enter Italy — but check the official EU ETIAS site before you fly, since the start date has moved before. When it does begin, it’s an online form costing a few euros, valid for multiple trips.
• Leaving is easy. EU/EEA/Swiss passport holders use the automated e-gates; everyone else uses staffed desks. Linate is small, so even a busy passport hall clears faster than at a mega-hub.

The terminal, security and FaceBoarding

Linate is a single, compact terminal — a genuine relief after the sprawl of most hubs. A €40-million-plus redevelopment completed at the start of the decade rebuilt it as a bright three-level building with reworked check-in and enlarged boarding areas, and it wears its size well: from kerb to gate is a short, legible walk, with none of the inter-terminal shuttles or satellite concourses that trip people up elsewhere.

Linate was also the first Italian airport to roll out full biometric “FaceBoarding”. Enrol once at a kiosk — scanning your passport, boarding pass and face — and you can then clear the security lane and the boarding gate with just a look at the camera, no documents in hand. It’s optional; the regular lanes work exactly as before, and you can still do everything with a paper or phone boarding pass.

Lounges

For a small airport, Linate’s lounge picture is straightforward:

• ITA Airways Runway Lounge — the flagship, refurbished in 2025, near gates A17–A21, with a quirky “silent room” built as a mock aircraft cabin. It’s for ITA and Lufthansa Group business-class passengers and their frequent-flyer elites (plus Star Alliance Gold on a Lufthansa-group flight) — not a walk-in or Priority Pass lounge.
• Club SEA lounges — Sala Leonardo and Sala Piranesi — the airport operator’s own lounges, and the ones that accept Priority Pass as well as paid walk-in entry.

Connections and switching to Malpensa

Because Linate is a point-to-point airport, most journeys through it are simple: you’re not routing long-haul via a hub here — ITA’s intercontinental connecting bank lives at Rome Fiumicino, not Milan. A same-airline connection within Linate’s one terminal is quick, and there’s no minimum-connection-time drama the way there is at multi-terminal giants.

The connection that does catch people is a self-transfer between Linate and Malpensa — for instance a short-haul into LIN and a long-haul out of MXP on separate tickets. There is no direct train between the two airports. Your options are the airport-to-airport coach (the “Malpensa Shuttle” / Air Bus links, roughly 75–90 minutes when traffic behaves) or a fixed ~€110 taxi. Treat it as a proper cross-city trip: give yourself at least three to four hours between the two flights, more in rush hour, and remember your bags won’t be checked through if the tickets are separate.

Food, money and practicalities

Food: it’s a short-haul airport, so keep expectations realistic — the airside offer is cafés, a bar or two and grab-and-go rather than a dining destination. You’ll get a decent espresso and a panino, which for a 90-minute hop is all you need. If you want a real Milanese meal, eat in the city; the M4 gets you there fast enough that a proper lunch before your flight is doable.

Money: Italy is euro and card-friendly — contactless works everywhere, including the metro turnstile. Use a bank ATM over the exchange desks if you want cash, and if a machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline and choose euros.

Practicalities: free Wi-Fi throughout the terminal; the whole building is on one level of walking, so it’s easy with luggage or reduced mobility. Buy your ATM ticket at the metro machines or just tap a contactless card at the gate — there’s no need to queue for paper.

Frequently asked questions

At a glance

Before you fly

• 📊 Check what a good fare to Milan looks like — our price-check tool shows the typical deal range so you know a bargain when you see one.
• 🧳 Baggage checker — confirm your airline’s carry-on and checked allowance before you pack.
• 🏙️ Milan city guide — what to see, where to eat and the tourist traps to skip in the city.
• 🌍 Italy travel guide — regions, best time to go and how to get around.