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Milano Linate Airport (LIN): flight delays and compensation

Milano Linate Airport. As an EU airport, every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004. Here is what to expect if your flight was delayed or cancelled here, or you were stranded.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 6 min How we write our guides

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In short: Any flight departing from Milano Linate Airport that arrives 3 or more hours late, is cancelled less than 14 days before departure, or is overbooked can give €250–600 per passenger. Departures: EU261 with any airline.

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About the airport

Milano Linate Airport (LIN) serves Milan, Italy. On the routes Eurostat reports, 10,353,625 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 46th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Rome, Catania, Paris, Cagliari.

Every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline. Flights arriving here are covered if they depart from the EU, or if an EU airline operates them from outside the EU.

Busiest routes from Milan – and what a delay is worth

The 28 busiest routes on Eurostat’s 2024 data, with the compensation for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation in each direction.

DestinationPassengers 2024DistanceFrom LINReturn
Rome FCO1,054,328470 km€250€250
Catania CTA915,8161,009 km€250€250
Paris CDG761,818644 km€250€250
Cagliari CAG630,769689 km€250€250
Amsterdam AMS630,511831 km€250€250
Palermo PMO585,478868 km€250€250
Bari BRI533,932772 km€250€250
Frankfurt FRA495,729512 km€250€250
Naples NAP482,874650 km€250€250
London LHR476,974981 km€250£220
Paris ORY423,451638 km€250€250
Madrid MAD387,1031,180 km€250€250
Brussels BRU377,320703 km€250€250
Olbia OLB363,317506 km€250€250
Alghero AHO270,145541 km€250€250
London LCY262,062956 km€250£220
Berlin BER256,943828 km€250€250
Brindisi BDS251,507882 km€250€250
Lamezia Terme SUF235,516926 km€250€250
Reggio Calabria REG170,574975 km€250€250
Munich MUC123,681375 km€250€250
Düsseldorf DUS122,320676 km€250€250
Malta MLA120,4391,154 km€250€250
Dublin DUB105,5071,427 km€250€250
Stockholm ARN104,6351,681 km€400€400
London LGW91,988943 km€250£220
Stuttgart STR84,389361 km€250€250
Trieste TRS34,499328 km€250€250

* only with an EU (or UK) airline. Passengers: Eurostat, both directions, routes reported by EU/EEA airports.

Air traffic flow delays at Linate (2025)

EUROCONTROL records the delay imposed on arriving flights when the airport or the airspace around it cannot take more traffic (air traffic flow management, “ATFM”). In 2025, 60,913 flights arrived at LIN; 827 of them were held back this way, 447 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.29 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • weather86%
  • industrial action (non-ATC)9%
  • aerodrome capacity5%
  • other1%

Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)

  1. J
  2. F
  3. M
  4. A
  5. M
  6. J
  7. J
  8. A
  9. S
  10. O
  11. N
  12. D

Worst days: 16 April 2025 – 3,350 minutes, mostly weather; 17 April 2025 – 2,128 minutes, mostly weather; 10 January 2025 – 1,368 minutes, mostly industrial action (non-ATC).

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 48,553 arrivals, 0.24 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly weather (96%) and other (4%).

Check what happened at LIN on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (86% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (9%) or airport limits – causes airlines often cite as extraordinary circumstances. They are only part of the story: most long delays come from the airline’s own operation (technical faults, crew, late inbound aircraft), which this data does not show. Source: EUROCONTROL.

Typical delay causes at Milano Linate Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 60,913 arrivals at LIN in 2025; 827 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 447 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was weather (86%).
  • The worst day was 16 April 2025, with 3,350 minutes of flow delay, mostly weather.
  • Most long delays that earn compensation are not flow delays but airline problems – technical faults, crew shortages and late inbound aircraft – which do not count as extraordinary circumstances.

Airlines you are likely to fly with here

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    What happened?Step 1 of 4

    What happened to your flight?
    Where did you fly from and to?

    With a connection, enter your first departure and your final destination – compensation is based on the total distance.

    How late did you arrive at your final destination?

    What counts is when the aircraft doors opened at your destination – not the departure delay.

    When were you told about the cancellation?
    When did you arrive on the replacement flight?
    Which airline operated the flight?
    When was the flight?

    How many passengers were on the booking?

    1 passenger

    Every passenger gets their own compensation, children too. Infants under 2 without their own seat do not count.

    • Free, no sign-up
    • Fee only if successful (35%)
    • AirHelp: Trustpilot 4.5/5

    Rather skip the questions? Start a claim with AirHelp straight away

    Local information

    • Ask the airline staff at the gate for the reason for the delay or cancellation and write it down; take a photo of the departure board.
    • From 2 hours’ delay (depending on distance) the airline must give you meals and drinks, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight – keep the receipts if you had to pay yourself.
    • If the airline rejects your claim, complain to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed (or arrived, for flights from outside the EU), or go to court.

    Frequently asked questions

    Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from Milano Linate Airport?

    Yes. LIN is an EU airport, so every flight departing from it is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline and wherever it is based.

    Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at Milano Linate Airport?

    If the flight departed from an EU airport: yes, with any airline. If it departed from the UK: yes, under UK261, with any airline. If it departed from elsewhere: only if an EU airline operated it.

    How is the length of the delay measured?

    By your arrival time at your final destination – more precisely, the moment the aircraft door opens at the gate. It must be at least 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time.

    Related guides

    Information only, not legal advice. Passenger figures are approximate and based on the airports' published statistics; punctuality figures are from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We earn a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links is successful.

    Sources

    1. Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
    2. EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL

    We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.