INTRODUCTION
Hello everyone
The last time I went to Rome was in mid-April, one week before my trip to Asia
Considering my parents visited me in mid-May I postponed a weekend to Rome until early June
Since the 2nd June is the Republic Day in Italy and this year it fall on Monday I organise a long weekend
Being busy on Friday 30th May I went for 31st May to 2nd June
The “cheapest” solution proved to be Aeroitalia, departing from Milan-Malpensa (105 km from my house) rather than Bergamo (30 km)
I booked the flight on the 3rd May
225 euros for this flight is unnecessary expensive, but that’s it
ROUTING
Aeroitalia - Milan MXP > Rome FCO - Embraer E-190
Aeroitalia - Rome FCO > Milan MXP - Embraer E-190
Some stats:
11th out of 11 flights of 2025 (as of June 2025)
First time flying on FCO-MXP route
BEFORE THE FLIGHT
One week after booking I got a notification from Aeroitalia
The return flight had been anticipated from 21:10 to 20:50
Twenty minutes, no problem
THE FLIGHT
With the flight scheduled for 20:50 I decided to be at the airport around 19, in order to get dinner
I left my house around 18:35/40
Moments after 19 my parents and I arrived at Rome-Fiumicino International Airport
Terminal 1, ITA Airways base
Terminal 3, hosts most of international flights at FCO
Aeroitalia operates from here
The building keeps its original design dating 1960s
The wooden sculpture of Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man welcomes passengers into the Terminal
About two weeks before the terminal saw a large refurbishment project coming to its end
More check-in desks were installed and the security inspection area was expanded to accomodate more screening lanes
A deep refresh of material, finitures and lighting was made too
My flight seemed on schedule
The airport was very crowded due to the end of the longer weekend
Heading straight to the security area tho
Despite the crowd it took me 5 minutes to clear security
A mandatory passage through the duty free leading to boarding area A
The boarding area seemed full
However, enough seating was available
This food corner, run by "Antico Vinaio" bakery, offers a large window to the apron
The tarmac between pier A1-10 (under renovation) and pier A31-52
Air France A320
Air Europa Boeing 787 taxiing to the runway on its way to Madrid-MAD
As I've seen on a blog regarding FCO this sight is not that unusual on busy days
The apron between pier A31-52 and pier A61-83 looked a bit more populated
ITA Airways A220 with a twin brother taxiing in the background
Iberia A320, KLM Boeing 737, Wizzair and Eurowings A320s
SAS A320neo pulling in
Turkish Airlines A330 on its way to the runway
As boarding time approached I walked to boarding area A21-27, dedicated to bus gates
My gate was set for departure
Gate opened at 20:15, five minutes in advance
Blue line-up at pier A31-52
Colorful European birds at pier A61-83
Old Alitalia's Triple-7s "cemetery"
Such a sad view
ITA Airways A320 still carrying the latest Alitalia's livery, an Aeroitalia 737 and two ITA's A220s
The plane scheduled to bring me back to MXP is the same of the inbound flight
Aeroitalia Embraer ERJ-190SR, SX-PTM
First delivery on 2nd May 2008 (17.1 years old, no infos about the first flight) to Baboo. It later flew for carriers like Azul and BA CityFlyer before entering Marathon Airlines fleet
It’s leased by Aeroitalia since March 2025
Can fly 100 passengers in full-Y configuration
Instant fuselage…
…and instant door
A contrail cutting in half the sunset
I was among the last to board
The load factor navigates 50-60%
As I was making my way to the back of the plane (I had 19B assigned) the weight-and-balance crew member invited some passengers to take front rows
Being among the last gave me the chance to get 1D
Self-upgrade in "Business" class
Two cousins were sitting next to us
Four minutes before scheduled doors were closed and harmed
We left the stand five minutes to nine o'clock
Engines felt much more silent from the first row
Lights were lowered for take-off
Entering runway 25 after a quick taxi
At 21:04, fourteen minutes after schedule, engines went full power
In the air!
Runway 16R-34L
Focene town
Climbing over Tyrrean Sea and pointing north
As we climb the plane was engulfed by clouds
Moreover darkness contributes to hide any sight of ground
40 minutes into the flight we began our descent over Pianura Padana
Somewhere south of Malpensa, probably Vigevano
We'd land from south
Landing on runway 35L
At 22:05, ten minutes earlier than scheduled, we touched down at Milan-Malpensa Airport
Unfortunately the light rain made any other pic impossible
Doors were opened ten minutes after touching down and soon after reaching the remote stand
Goodnight little bird
The ride to the terminal was pretty fast
Having no checked-bag I made my way to the pick up area
I had to wait 15 minutes for the car park shuttle
I got there and retrieve my car by 23, almost one hour after touching down
The 105-km ride to San Pellegrino took me additional one hour and ten minutes
Thank you for the attention
