The Italian Government is revising its proposals ordering airlines to transfer from Milan Linate to Malpensa Airport after the European Commission (EC) had rejected the plan, calling it "discriminatory, disproportionate and therefore illegal".
Despite the decision, Italian transport minister Claudio Burlando still insists that the airport will open as planned on 25 October in its new role as a major European hub.
While the ECadmits that it has no power to make the government comply, it gave a green light to carriers to mount a legal challenge saying that "-any airline forced to move to Malpensa on the basis of existing arrangements may legally oppose the transfer".
The row comes after nine European airlines, including British Airways and Lufthansa, complained to the EC that the Italian Government's criteria for determining which airlines should use which Milan airport were discriminatory, and gave Alitalia a competitive advantage.
The initial Italian demand was that the airlines should move to Malpensa on 25 October - except for services on the Milan-Rome route. Talks were continuing as Flight International went to press, with hopes of a compromise on the interim period that the airlines would be allowed to remain at Linate before moving.
Burlando wants to limit this to a year, while EC transport commissioner Neil Kinnock is pushing for a two year period. He points to the lack of a road and rail infrastructure at Malpensa, which also suffers from its 50km (30 miles) distance from Milan, whereas Linate is 9km from the city.
The two sides are still some way apart, with Italy demanding that only 20% of carriers should be allowed to remain at Linate Airport during the interim period, while the EC is proposing a figure which is closer to 40%.
Any new proposal will be examined by Kinnock and sent to the full Commission for review.
Source: Flight International
