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October 25, 2014Milan Malpensa – Spotting Guide
- last modified on April 5, 2024
Milano Malpensa is the second busiest airport in Italy with two runways and two Terminals. Terminal 2 is used exclusive by Easyjet while all other carriers based at Terminal 1 and its three satellites. There is also a cargo terminal called CargoCity which currently handles over 435’000 tons of traffic annually. The airport is located 40 kilometres northwest of central Milano. Malpensa handled in 2019 28 Mio. passengers.
The most interesting traffic at MXP is cargo flights (Air BridgeCargo, Asiana, Cargolux, Cathay Pacific, DHL, Egyptair, Etihad, Emirates, Lufthansa, Fedex, Korean, Nippon, Qatar, Royal Air Maroc, Saudia, Silk Way, Swiftair, ULS Cargo and Turkish) mostly use A33F, B77F and B74F. The main traffic is generated by Easyjet and WizzAir with some traffic from Blue Panorama and Neos. Alitalia operates only some long haul flights out of MXP to AUH, NRT and JFK. Nearly all European Full Carriers serving Milan Malpensa. North America is served by American Airlines, Alitalia, Delta Airlines, Ethiad, Emirates and United Airlines. LATAM is the only airline from South America. The Middle East and Asia is served by Air India, Alitalia, Azerbaijan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, ELAL, Emirates, Iran Air, Mahan Air, Middle East Airlines, Oman Air, PIA, Qatar, Saudia, Thai Airways and Uzbekistan Airlines. Afrika is served by Egypt Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Royal Air Maroc and Tunisair.
During the Summer also many Charter Carriers serving MXP including Air Cairo, Albastar, Europe Airpost, Freebird, Mistral Air, Nesma Airlines, Tunisair and Smartlynx. Due to lack of periods there are also some rush hours with long breaks inbetween, that can also cause that sometimes just one runway is in use for arrivals and departures.
Exact passenger timetable can be found here: https://www.milanomalpensa-airport.com/en/flights/arrivals
For cargo flights use this link: https://www.milanomalpensacargo.eu/en/flights/arrivals
Written by Jeremy Denton, Julian Mittnacht, Gaëtan De Meyer, Severin Hackenberger, Thomas Ernst and Patrick Weis. Last change: March 2024
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety |  |
| Photo Locations | |
| Weather |  |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 17L / 35R | 3’900m (12’861ft) Asphalt |
| 17R / 35L | 3’900m (12’861ft) Asphalt |
| Terminals | |
| Terminal 1A | domestic and intra-Schengen flights |
| Terminal 1B+C | non-Schengen and intercontinental flights |
| Terminal 2 | EasyJet only |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Not necessary except Spot #5. |
| Car/Public Transport | Car is necessary as there is no public transport to the spotting locations directly except #1 (long walk) and its hard to get around if they switch runways. |
| Restrooms | Available only at the airport. |
| Drinks/Food | There are some supermarkets and restaurant on the east side of the airport. |
| Hotels | We recommend the hotels (Novotel, Ibis, BestWestern) in the north/east corner in the city of Cardano al Campo. From here you are pretty fast at the most important spotting locations and supermarkets and restaurants are not far as well. |
| Season | Due to the North-South configuration of the runways we recommend to spot during summer time as in winter you don’t have much light on each side. |
| Runway Usage | |
| General Info | They use mostly runways 35, one for arrivals and one for the departures. Every 24h, between 14:30 and 16:30, they change the runways configuration so the runway who handled all departures is now in use for the arrivals and the other way round. It is possible that some flights don´t follow this rules, and use the other runway instead but this is less than 10 percent of all arrivals(EasyJets prefer landing 35R). El Al always lands/take-offs from the runway closest to the terminal. |
Ferno Playground - 35R arrivals and departures
| WHERE | If you came by the highway A4, take direction Malpensa and exit to Oleggio, Busto Arsizio. Take direction Busto and Ferno. Take the road on the left direction parking Ferno, continue strait for some minutes then turn on the left direction Vissola and first on the right direction Ferno. Continue strait until you’ll see a parking with fences of the airport. You have two possibilities to make pictures at this spot. The first point A is to be on a small hill next to the trees where you park your car and from here you don’t need to have a ladder. If you have a ladder you can walk a little bit northwards on the gravel road for approximate 100m and spot from the fence as the runway is very bright which brings some light to the belly of the plane. This is the second point B. If travelling by public transport you can use the train between the airport and the city and get out at Ferno Station. From there its a 15-20 minutes walk. |
| WHAT | Excellent spot for landings and departures on runway 35R. You can also have pictures of take-off and arrivals from runway 35L but if you still have a focal length over 450mm and also don’t mind the heat haze. |
| TIME | From sunrise until noon in summer. |
| MISC. | Bring with you what you need. There are benches and enough shadow to relax. There are sensors on the fence so don´t touch it otherwise the security will arrive pretty soon. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Rwy35L (380mm = 744, 420mm = 332, 460mm = 763, 510mm = 738) Rwy35R (116mm = 773, 140mm = 744, 290mm = G550, 500mm = Agusta) |
Point A:
Point B:
Overviews for both points:
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- Car parking and view of the mound
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- View from the mound (point A)
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- Position at the fence (point B)
Radar - Arrivals 35R Afternoon
| WHERE | From spot 1, take the same previous road then at the intersection, take on the right and park your car directly on the right next to the fences. Then walk on the grass for some meters until you reach a radar. Alternative B: you can stand below the arrival path of the western runway 35L and shoot from there towards 35R. |
| WHAT | Good spot for landings rwy35R in the afternoon. UPDATE 2017: It became hard to photograph from here as the trees are very high now and the time frame to make a picture is only 1-2 seconds which is pretty tricky. Alternative is Spot #7. |
| TIME | From afternoon till sunset in the summer. |
| MISC. | Bring with you what you need. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | East: B772 = 115mm / A320 = 210mm West: A332 = 275mm |
East option:
West option:
Crash Gate - Arrivals 35L Afternoon
| WHERE | From spot 2, continue the road next to the airport fences, then take the first way on your right next to an old crash gate (no longer in use). Park your car here (limited) but correctly because your are just next to the road. |
| WHAT | Great spot for landings rwy35L in the afternoon. Planes passing by on the taxiway for 35R departures but you can`t photograph them because of the double fence. Use Spot 8 instead. |
| TIME | From afternoon till sunset in the summer. |
| MISC. | Bring with you what you need. Some trees spending shadow. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 116mm = 744 / 140mm = 332 / 210mm = 738 |
Terminal 2 - Arrivals 17L Afternoon
| WHERE | From the spot 3, take direction Terminal 2, Easyjet. Before your arrived at the T2, take the first road on the left, continue strait and park your car next to the road before the security entrance. |
| WHAT | Great spot for landings rwy17L in the afternoon. |
| TIME | From afternoon till sunset in the summer. |
| MISC. | Everything you need within the terminal. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 95mm = 332 / 170mm = DH8 / 380mm = Piaggio 180 |
Perimeter Fence - 35R morning Touchdown
| WHERE | Park at the parking spot of Spot 1. Follow the fence northbound until you’re at the first corner then turn left past the helicopter hangars and then walk to the runway along the fence turn right and walk a few hundred meter then you’re on the touchdownzone height. |
| WHAT | Good spot for landings rwy35R in the morning for touchdowns. Here you need a high stepladder. There are some small gaps between the barbed wire and the mesh where you can shot through. |
| TIME | From sunrise till 12:00. |
| MISC. | Bring with you what you need. especially something against the mosquitoes! There are sensors on the fence so don´t touch it otherwise the security will arrive pretty soon. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 24-150mm |
Via de Goggo - 35L morning arrival
| WHERE | From Spot 1 or 2 follow the street straight to the city of Lonate Pozzolo. At the stop sign turn right and the next right again into the unpaved Via Gaggio (Industrial Area). Park at the side of the street and start spotting from the nearby dirt track. |
| WHAT | Good spot for landings rwy35L. |
| TIME | From morning till noon in the summer. |
| MISC. | Bring with you what you need. There is some shadow. Also popular location for biker so be careful. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 250-400mm |
Via Vittorio - Arrivals 35R evening
| WHERE | At the stop sign don´t turn right to reach spot #6. Instead turn right at the next intersection and drive always straight for a couple approximate 1,5km. The spot is at the junction Via Vittorio Veneto and Via Piemonte. Park there somewhere on the side of the road and start spotting. |
| WHAT | Good spot for landings rwy35R in the evening. |
| TIME | From noon till sunset in the summer. |
| MISC. | Bring with you what you need. There are trees spending shadow. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 200-500mm A320 = 360mm; 772 = 230mm; E190 = 400mm |
Abandoned Tower Building - Taxiway H
| WHERE | Its a good place when you switch your position when the sun is over the runways and the other spots are useless. Its almost next to number 3, along the perimeter road. There is a small tower where you can climb up. Be careful its a bit tricky and a ladder is helpful to reach the first steps. From here you have a nice and almost clear view over the perimeter fence. You can park your car in the small lay-by next to it. |
| WHAT | This spot is only for aircraft using taxiway H on their way to 35R for departure. The Taxiway H is used only during arrivals peek on 35L, so keep an eye on the radar; if there are no arrivals move fast to Spot 1 if light is still good enough. Also cargo parked in the wide cargo apron on the left of the tower will take this most of the time regardless of arrivals. |
| TIME | Recommended during midday when the sun is over the runway for 90 degree pics. For front photos from morning till afternoon. Good almost all day in winter. |
| MISC. | Bring with you what you need. Keep in mind its not everyones thing to climb up the tower.
The space on the tower is limited to a maximum of 5-6 people, so be careful because you might find it full! It seems that this spot is now “illegal”. We suggest to avoid this place as authorities are forcing people to get down. So don’t count to visit Malpensa for spending you day over there…. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 747 NCA = 25mm; MD80 = 140mm |
Parking P1 - Ramp/Taxiway
| WHERE | Follow the signs to terminal 1 and then to parking P1. If you just make a short stop you don´t even have to enter the parking and stop before it. But don’t wonder if you get a ticket 😉 |
| WHAT | From here you can take photos of aircraft parked on the apron between terminal 1 and the cargo building. Usually there is not much standing here but if you are passing by its always worth to have a look. You may also shot the planes which are pushed back from the right side of concourse A or passing by on the taxiways. |
| TIME | From afternoon till sunset in the summer. |
| MISC. | Everything you need within the terminal. You need a very small lens for your DSLR as the fence has a stiff mesh and is not bigger than 5×5 cm. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 24mm for the 762 on the first position |
Terminal 1 - Ramp/Taxiway
| WHERE | The check in area of terminal 1 offers a nice view of the ramp between the concourses A-B and B-C. Just follow the signs to the check in and walk behind the desks to find the massive glass front. The spot is landside before security checks. |
| WHAT | There are different possibilities for photography. Mainly for aircraft using the taxiway to their gate but its also possible to photograph aircraft on the taxiway Kilo/Whiskey on the way to the gate or runway. |
| TIME | Depends on what you plan to photograph but its better to be there from the afternoon. |
| MISC. | Everything you need within the terminal. The glass is tinted which can be tricky. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | American 767 = 220mm; Tunisair A320 = 140mm |
Hangars - Departures 35L
| WHERE | The spot is situated between Terminal 1 and 2, next to some parking lots. From terminal 1 follow the signs to parking P4, pass it to your right and follow the road until you see another parking lot to your right. Park your car either next to the entrance to the parking lots on a small lay by as marked on the map and stay next to your car. Otherwise drive northward and head to the Holiday Inn where you find plenty of free parking spaces (tagged on the map). Now you can decide where are you going to stand. |
| WHAT | Best place for departures on runway 35L. If you stand more southerly light planes will take off just in front of you but you have to be careful with the roof of the buildings and some lights post. If you walk to the north this spotting point is more easy because planes are little bit more far away from the previously one and you have a better angle. No lightposts, only some trees but planes will be above them. This one is more suitable for heavies (Light and medium planes will be a little bit to high). If you are an easyjet fan, this spotting point is made for you because they will depart from the middle of the runway and they will be at the right position and altidude just in front of you. Keep in mind sometimes there are ferry flights and some heavies are pretty light and taking off like a rocket (see Wamos 330 and Meridiana 767 below) |
| TIME | From afternoon till sunset in summer. |
| MISC. | Everything you need within the terminals. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | |
Southern Location:
Northern Location:
| Spotter Tours | |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This is not an additional spot, but rather additional information for spotters at MXP, which could be worth mentioning in the main description of the airport. The Associazione Italiana Amici dell’Aviazione organizes several spotter days throughout the year, for which you can register on https://www.airclipper.com/prenotazione-eventi-clipper-2024/. |
| WHAT | Participants are taken by bus to various locations and supervised by the organizers. During the full-day events, participants spend a whopping 10!! hours at the MXP premises, visiting different spots. |
| TIME | There are half-day, full-day, and night sessions available. |
| MISC. | The contribution fee for non-members is 14€ (as of 2024). The primary language spoken is Italian, however, some organizers and many participants speak good English (and other languages). There are Toilets available, but you need to bring your food and something to drink with you. You also need to bring a high visibility jacket in yellow. NOT in orange, as this is the color the supervisors wearing. |
Hello, I am going to vololandia museum this morning and I wanted to ask if any decent plane spotting can be done from there in the open areas or a walking distance from vololandia. does anyone know a spot?
I virtually fly in and out of here a lot in MS Flight Sim, and have often wondered why they never seem to use 17L and 17R, irrespective of wind direction.
Anyone know why?
hello. First of all, thank you for the detailed information. I wanted to ask a question…from what I understand, runway 35R and 35L are used every 24 hours for takeoffs or landings. The issue is that looking at FR24 today, I see that they have used the 35R for landing and at the same time alternating takeoffs using the 35 R (Wizz Air and EasyJet planes). Likewise, when is the 17L or 17R used? On the other hand, I plan to travel in June and I will be only one afternoon and morning at the hotel (among the options I was considering to stay were the holiday inn or the moxy) and I would like to know the point or points that you recommend best to make the most of the visit. Thanks in advance
Hi, usually one runway is for arrivals and one is for departures.The pattern changes every 24h.
Thanks Julian 😊
De retour de Malpensa j’ai trouvé un spot qui peut vous intéresser. Atterrissage en 35l et 35R quelques centaines de mètres après le point de spot n°7, il y a plusieurs usines et une maison rouge sur la droite.
Il est aisé de se garer et d’y spotter sans se déplacer quelque soit la configuration. Restez discret il y a quelques habitations. Ideal le matin pour la 35l.
Thank you. Could you share the maps location?
I can`t imagine the angle would be much better at this point. Spot 6 is ideal for morning arrivals on 35L
Hello! Is Malpensa worth making a spotting trip there? Sounds like it is a little difficult to spot there or am I wrong? Is it legal to spot in Italy? Flightradar shows that there are lots of CargoLux 747 planes landing in Malpensa. Is this exception or regular activity?
Hi Fair River!
My feedback is a bit dated by now but hopefully still helpful and valid. I was there in 2015 and I very enjoyed my 1 day there.
I used spots 1, 2, 3, 8. Especially spot 1 is quite convenient and back then there were a few planespotters, even with tripods ( I did not consider it necessary), with no police around.
Hi, I agree with Nicola. Spot 1 is a really nice place. I have been to MXP a couple of times but it isn’t one of my favorites. Most locations are not the best as they are far from the runway. Long focal length needed. But there are indeed a lot of Cargolux flights and you can get easily 4-5 within one day. Cargo traffic is pretty nice there!
-Julian
Sounds like winter is a bad time to spot, will be there next month in December, any good locations? Thank you Jon
In winter you will have like 2h at spot #1 early morning, good Spot #8 from 10 to 14 but there is always the gamble on what passes by. Good landings in the afternoon as well as from inside the terminal and departures from spot 11.
Hello everyone, do i need to pass security checks to reach spot 10?
Hi, it is landside before security 🙂
-Julian
For location 11 you can park (for free) between location 11 North and 11 South along the road – opposite the parking lots – that is, next to the trees
Hi Alberto, did you meant this small lay by? https://goo.gl/maps/CtCrydpw8eRZHDuv7
-Julian
Ciao Julian – that is the exact spot for parking free, of course not too many cars.
From tomorrow 9sep to 13oct runway 35R/17L closed for heavy maintenance. All movements on 35L/17R
Thanks for the info.
-Julian
Reopening posponed to 04nov21
Hi there
I have a question about item 1. What are the spotter times in winter? also until noon? Thank you very much for your effort. Greetings Patrick from Switzerland
Hi, yes it is from sunrise until early noon (11/12). But the light conditions are very poor as the sun only moves in the south the whole day. You have no light from the side.
Cheers, Julian