Great news for ITA Airways frequent flyers looking a few months down the road. Not as good for those passengers that will have to transit or depart Milan Linate in the next few months. ITA Airways is looking to finally renovate its airport lounge in its second most important airport and secondary hub. Here's what you need to know, look out for, and expect.
ITA Airways to Expand its Milan Linate Lounge
Since day one ITA Airways has made its priorities clear in terms airport importance. Rome Fiumicino became the airline's sole intercontinental hub, with it abandoning Milan Malpensa in early 2024, while Milan Linate became the secondary hub with a vast offering of European services. Therefore, Milan Linate is for ITA Airways the second most important airport served.
Despite the airport being of such strategic importance the airline's airport lounge is the same as when Alitalia passed it down to ITA. A space which is now too small for the needs of the new Italian flag carrier at Milan Linate.
Therefore, it makes total sense that the airline's management has decided to invest in renovating it. The newly renovated ITA Airways Milan Linate lounge will accomodate up to 400 passengers at any given time during the day.
It is highly likely that the lounge will remain off limits, totally or partially, while the renovations are ongoing. That is the not so good news for passengers departing from the Milan city airport in coming months.
There is no official date regarding when the work will start. However, my guess is that they will start soon in order to be over by the busy summer season in 2025.
Restyling and ITA Airways Milan Linate Lounge Future Needs
As already mentioned, ITA Airways inherited this lounge from Alitalia. While Rome Fiumicino did get an all new lounge, the Hangar Lounge, aligned with the new brand identity, Linate still doesn't. So what should you expect from ITA? Ideally the new Linate lounge should offer airport experience consistency with the Hangar Lounge in Rome Fiumicino. A Hangar Lounge 2.0 might be in store for Milano.
In the short term the new lounge will welcome passengers travelling on the many ITA Airways flights from the airport. However, moving into 2025, with Lufthansa taking more control over the Italian carrier, this space will rapidly become a strategic asset for all Lufthansa carriers. A development that might see the newly renovated lounge welcome even more passengers than now.
