We will be flying home from Milan Malpensa airport September 26 at 11 AM. We will have to drop off the car and check in. What time do we need to be at the airport to catch the 11 AM plane?

Thanks for your help.

Destination and airline ?

I should have included this info in the first post. DUH!!
We are flying on Delta Airlines to Atlanta.

In the absence of any responses from people with more direct experience...

I haven't taken a transatlantic flight from Italy but in my experience, Italian airport check-ins open 2 hours before the time of the flight. Allow half an hour to drop off the car.

So what time you get there to drop off the car depends on whether you are the type of person who likes to be in the queue early (in which case get there between 7.30 & 8), or if (like me) you are happy to get there later with the risk there may be a big queue (in which case I'd say 8.30-9).

Meant to say... but also check your documentation to see what Delta's minimum check-in time is - for the European flights I get it's usually only 30-45 mins but maybe theirs is more ?

Some personal and recent experience here...

We took this same flight about a month ago, and had planned on getting to the airport by 9:00, as we had a car to drop off. One thing led to another, and by the time we actually got to the gate it was after 10:00. Delta personnel pulled us out of the line-up almost immediately, put us through check-in, and sent us on to the gate. We made it with plenty of time to spare.

One note: the gate area there suffers from (in my experience, and I've taken this particular flight several times) really poor acoustics (such that overhead announcements aren't much help) and a not particularly efficient queuing arrangement. Don't worry, you'll make it just fine.

Anyway, based on my experience last time with car rental return at Malpensa I'd plan on being at the airport no later than 8:30. The gate area has a decent coffee shop right in front of the gate, so you can hang out there if you make it way early.

HI Therese and Caroline,

Thanks for the input. Glad to hear that it is not like CDG. Now I will find a place near the airport for the last night.

Check-in desks should open 3 hours before flight time, and in generally, you need to be checked-in and luggage accepted by the 1-hour mark.