A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Business Aviation Services Editor

Curt Epstein

Business aircraft operators heading to Milan, Italy, are facing a sudden hike in parking fees at the city’s Linate (LIML) and Malpensa (LIMC) airports. According to Ops Group and Universal Weather and Aviation, the increase was placed in effect without warning on July 1 by the airport authority, with costs escalating by as much as 650%.
Confirmed by FBO operators at both airports, the pricing is per tonne on an escalating scale depending on length of stay. Universal Aviation noted that from two to 24 hours, the price at Linate increased from €0.15 per tonne per hour to €0.57. For stays of more than 72 hours, it rises to €1.09 per tonne.
At Malpensa—which previously priced parking according to time of day with a maximum charge of €0.13 per tonne during peak hours—a similar duration of stay model has been adopted, topping out at €0.77 per tonne after 72 hours.
The move seems to be aimed at discouraging long-term ramp parking, freeing up space for active operations. At both airports, the first two hours on the ground are still free, which could lead operators to drop passengers in Milan, and relocate to nearby airports.
A representative from Milan’s airport authority told AIN that the fees are “defined through a very rigorous process based on national regulatory guidelines,” and added that stakeholders—including the business aviation user committee—were invited to participate in the consultation process, which began in February.
The representative also noted that fees at the airports, which “have been historically very low if compared to main European business aviation airports,” had not increased since 2020.
These increased fees could prove to be a factor for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, which will take place in nearby Cortina in February. Milan’s FBOs, situated in the general aviation terminals run by SEA Prime, are expecting to handle a surge in business aircraft activity in the run-up to the event. With operators looking to avoid the higher parking fees, increased drop-and-go activity could have an impact on airport operations and air traffic control during that period.

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Aircraft Parking Fees Soar at Milan Airports 

The rate hikes took effect on July 1

Business aircraft operators heading to Milan are facing parking fee sticker shock.


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