Transfers at airports

[starlingwood]

Is anyone here well-travelled? I have booked a flight for next year from Heathrow to Sicilly and there is a transfer via Milan and it's only 45 minutes. In Milan do we need to check out/check in our baggage and go through security bearing in mind we are still in Italy, both flights are with Alitalia too? If we transferred in say Germany we would need to go through security, is that right?

 

[Gordon Tarling]

If your bags are checked through to Sicily, then they should be transferred automatically, though always best to check at the departing airport as airlines do love to change things to suit themselves.

 

[jcassidy]

You will need to go through passport control in Milan as the UK is outside EU.

My other half is from sicily, we sometimes travel via Milan. As Ireland is also outside the Schengen, we always have to do passport control.

45 minutes is really pushing it, I usually leave at least 2 hours between flights. Tbh I can't see you making a connection in 45 minutes. I would look at changing to a later flight out from Milan.

Where in Sicily are you flying, Palermo or Catania? There is a train from Palermo airport to the city centre, in Catania it's either a bus or taxi.

 

[Richard_C]

That's a good if complicated question!

Your question is about bags, not about you and as the last reply says, you will have to put you through passport control in Milan. When you arrive in Sicily it should be at a domestic gate.

We flew to NZ South Island pre pandemic, via Hong Kong and Auckland. HK was no problem and the bags were checked through, we just had to walk through a transfer security gate which took moments. NZ was different - their rule is that bags have to be collected and taken through customs on first arrival in the country, i.e. Auckland for us, after which we were treated as any other internal flight for the leg to Christchurch. Had we been coming the other way, bags could have been checked through both Auckland and HK. In the past I have checked bags through to final desitnation in the USA without having to pick them up at the first stop, but countries have their own rules.

So my first thought was if your first arrival in Italy is Milan you might have to get your bags and check them back in - assuming the Milan - Sicily leg is effectively an internal flight. Plus, we are now no longer EU citizens so are likely to be treated as any other overseas passenger - imagine arriving in Milan from the USA then going on to Sicily.

But even without bags: aircraft on gate bang on time, it can take 10 minutes plus to shuffle off, much much more if its a walk to bus and wait for everyone else arrangement (which I hate but seems to be common practice now): for departure boarding often starts at least 30 minutes before take off and can close 10 minutes before so you have maybe just 20 minutes to get gate to gate via whatever border and security checks there are. All very tense and you will be hoping for a tail wind on the way in. Never been to Milan but some airports like Amsterdam it could take that long just to walk it briskly.

I would make no assumptions and ask the airline!

(one good experience to relate, back in the days when customer service was more of a thing. We - 2 adults, 2 children - were flying from Billings Montana to London via Chicago. First flight delayed by a storm before takeoff, I asked the stewardess what departure gate we would need in Chicago. I knew it would be tight. She found out and told me. Arrived, as we came down the 'tube' from the aircraft a uniformed steward intercepted and asked if we were the family wanting the LHR flight. I doubt they get many Brits coming from Billings. He took us down some stairs, into a shuttle van, accross the airport and up some steps by the gate we wanted. Even had time for a beer before we boarded. Thank you American Airlines! But that was pure chance, I always allow 90 minutes or more for transfers)

 

[Just4Fun]

In a previous life I used to take several flights every week. Almost always, in my experience, bags are checked through to your final destination. One time, and one time only, that was wrong. I changed planes in Dallas expecting my luggage to automatically arrive in Mexico. It didn't. I should have collected my luggage after getting off the flight from Paris and checked it in again to go on to Mexico.

It is at least 20 years since I flew in to or out of Milan but I used to go there regularly. I seem to remember there are 2 airports serving Milan - or do I have that confused? If I am right about that, you should at least check that your flight out is from the same airport as the one where you will fly in.

You will almost certainly have to pass through security in Milan. If all goes well that is possible in 45 minutes but if there is any delay you could have problems. If nothing else, talk to the staff on your first flight as they can usually advise about connections, timing, directions.

 

[starlingwood]

Oh dear! I will have two boys aged 5 and 7 with me too. Luckily Mrs Starling Wood will be there too. Its been sold to me as possible so it will HAVE to be possible. I just hope the main security bit is at Sicilly.

We are flying to Catania then hiring a car to a villa somewhere on the north coast, opposite side of Etna. It was a toss up between there and Palermo as the drive is pretty similar.

 

[jcassidy]

No, you will absolutely positively have to do immigration in Milan. The flight from Milan to Catania is domestic. There is no way, no sir, that they will let you transit Milan without doing immigration there.
You will not, in my reasoned judgement, do that and get to the other gate in 45 minutes. You would have to be the first to disembark and run all the way to the immigration checkpoint and hope they there is no queue. Both airports in Milan are international hubs, so good luck with that. Sorry to be Joe Downer, but as I said, we travel to Sicily lots via every connection you can imagine.

When you get to Catania, stick to the motorway, Catania-Messina-Palermo. The Catania-Palermo motorway is being repaired, it took my wife 4 hours to get from Palermo to Catania two weeks ago. Under no circumstances follow Google maps up into the mountains. The Nebrodie range is lovely to visit but not upon arrival with frazzled wife and kids in tow. Guests at our wedding followed Google and it took them 6 hours to go across, rather than the 2 hours up the motorway that Google didn't tell them about...

I would have arrived in Palermo for the North Coast, its an easy motorway drive all the way to Messina. Google maps lies all the time... Lovely beaches and you are just missing the busiest season,the weather will be fantastic and the sea warm.

 

[Cabinetman]

Sounds way too tight to me – I’ve missed a plane because of this and caught one with six seconds to spare and that’s me on my own running – not worth trying.
Just mention fit to fly Covid tests, it’s almost impossible to do the test and get it back within the four days unless you live near a major city, particularly if you factor in a weekend. The important thing to remember is that the only date on your test certificate is the date it was tested and as long as that’s within four days you’re okay so it’s perfectly feasible to do the test for one or even two days early – no it’s not right but you didn’t make the rules up! Ian

 

[starlingwood]

The flight is not until the end of May so hoping the Covid stuff will go away a bit by then.

We are flying to Milan Linate and the flight out is the same airport. When I visited last in 2016 we only had the 2-year-old and Rome Fiumicino had these fast track family lanes which were fantastic actually.

I only booked this with Alitalia on their website last night I will call them tomorrow and see what the deal is and get a later flight if possible.

 

[Richard_C]

If they are regular flights and currently operating (so many are changed right now because of Covid) you could look at a phone app like flightradar (no need to get the paid version) or look at the website on a pc, put in flight numbers and you can see actual arrival or departure times for the last week or so. That might reassure you, or not, about how long you might really have to transfer. I think they show the gate numbers as well, they often stick to a small range. The airport website should have a map so you might be able to work out how far between.

 

[Blackswanwood]

Bags are likely to be checked straight through so you probably will not need to reclaim them and put them back through security. The passenger route through security is massively variable when comparing countries and individual airports.

As a pre pandemic frequent flyer I would be very wary of a 45 minute transfer time. If anything I would wager the passengers may make it but the bags would not.

 

[AES]

I used to travel a lot, and often went to Milan, both as a destination and as a transfer point - but thinking back that was (blimey) at least 25 years ago now, i.e. in the EU and no Covid.

Personally I'd "guess" your chances of making a 45 minute connection are virtually non-existent - for all the reasons pointed out above - MAYBE on your own, as a pretty fit runner, knowing exactly where to go, and with no queues at Immigration, but still highly unlikely. AND don't forget you're depending on a bunch of "underground" baggage handlers in Milan to get your bags off the incoming LHR flight, into the terminal, then onto your outgoing flight, all within 45 minutes. I'd say "possible" but highly unlikely.

But DO please, when checking in at LHR make sure that you tell the check in lady that you're going via Linate to whichever airport is your final destination and find out beforehand the 3 letter codes for both Linate (I seem to remember LTE) and your final destination. As the check in lady at LHR takes your bags and labels them up check that the 3 letter code for BOTH airports is on each bag as it disappears down the tunnel.

Also before departure, check the minimum permitted transfer times at Linate. Each airport has at least one such published time and if your 45 minutes is less than that "allowed", then theoretically at least, the airline/s concerned should not accept your booking and check in for a flight departing in less than the allowed time - they should book you on a later flight.

Good luck with it though, not for me any more (thank goodness).

 

[Boxer]

TOP TIP.... Tell the check-in desk when you get to the airport and they may be able to reseat you near the front of the plane to get you to the head of the queue. Regardless of whether this works or not.... when you are on your first flight tell the cabin crew that you have a 40 min transfer on arrival. Do this as soon as you get on the plane and they may be able to arrange a speedier exit on landing. I have taken many many flights and this has worked for me. Final top tip is in the future always allow yourself at least 90mins for transfers. Takes a lot of stress out of flying.

 

[starlingwood]

Thank you everyone for your posts. My instinct was always it was tight but then I thought why do they offer it as a booking. Regardless, I have changed the Milan to Catania leg to the next flight and the transfer time is now 2hrs10mins.

@jcassidy - Lucky you to have married a Sicilian! Is she a great cook? It will be my first visit to Sicilly and I cannot wait!

Is this the good route to drive?

 

[woodieallen]

@starlingwood I think you have made the right call.

In another life, I do recall failing to set my alarm clock in the hotel room. I managed to shower, pack, check-out, catch the hotel shuttle van to the terminal, collect my tickets, check-in, go through security and having my first espresso....all within 30 minutes. I couldn't do that these days.

 

[danst96]

I used to travel 2 times a week from UK to europe with many connections.

About the bags my main question would be who are you flying with and is it the same airline all the way through? If yes then 45 minutes is tight but absolutely more than doable in most European major airports at a push. One thing to remember is flying from the UK you will likely enter a non-schengen zone and you may need to transfer to a different part of the airport or even terminal into the Schengen zone. Check this out online first and see what the distance/terminal situation is like because this could cause 45 mins not to be enough.

If you are using a travel agency or a booking service (as opposed to booking directly on a airlines website) you may find the connection is 2 unrelated bookings (which may not be obvious when you are just getting a price) and in that scenario you may not be able to book your bags right through at the first airport meaning you will have to collect and recheck which 45 minutes would not allow enough time for. I'd also be wary of airlines, I'd allow more than 45 minutes if I was flying with budget airlines such as Ryanair, easyjet or jet2 etc. If a decent airline such as BA, KLM or with it being Italy, Alitalia I'd be comfortable knowing my bags would get through on time.

2 hours for a connection imo is excessive and unnecessary if you can get a turnaround in 1 hour to 1.30 hours. If 45 minutes is the only option and you won't have any issues with my first points then I'd go for it. It will be tight though and I'd only do it if I was a confident traveller and a fast walker, especially if you are unfamiliar with the airport but it is achievable.

If you do go for it, my advice would be check airport maps prior to getting there to make sure your familiar with the route between gates. If you are less agile, book airport assistance, it's nothing to be ashamed about, it costs nothing usually and you will have guys who know exactly where they are going taking you to the gate.

 

[danst96]

I seem to remember there are 2 airports serving Milan - or do I have that confused?

There's 3 actually. Malpensa, Bergamo and Linate.

If you are flying easyjet into Malpensa T2 I'd allow more than 45 minutes, they are horrendous and the terminal is like a big public toilet.

Malpensa T1 is nice but reasonable large. Linate is small and serves mostly Alitalia EU flights but nice to get through. Bergamo is ok and wouldn't take too long to transfer through.

 

[danst96]

Sorry saw your message to late about Linate. I'd be comfortable doing that 45 mins by myself. With 2 young uns I'd be less comfortable. It's a small airport, you won't have trouble with your bags and you won't need to recheck them either but you may be at the mercy of the passport check.

If you do go for it, I'd go ahead and book seats at the front of the plane, it will cost you a bit extra but it's worth the money.

When travelling weekly I'd never book further back than row 7.

 

[starlingwood]

I booked the flight directly through Alitalia website speccing LHR to CTN so the transfer was already factored in by them in the trip. I will avoid likes of Ryanair et al at all costs. Its very convenient for me to fly direct from Luton to Catania via easyjet but I cant stand them and will avoid like Covid.

I flew with Alitalia before but very long time ago. Last couple of times BA and Jet2, both OK. Alitalia were good on the phone this morning, local rate number, held for less than 5 minutes, spoke to a person whose English was brilliant (much better than my italian) and sorted me a later flight no problem and with no charge.

 

[danst96]

That's great to hear. Enjoy your trip. I fly tomorrow, emigrating to Canada. First post covid flight so will be interesting to see how it goes.