Milan/Florence connection - what are the odds?
 

My Delta flight from Atlanta-Milan is due to land at 8:50 AM. Connecting Alitalia flight (code share with Delta) due to leave Milan-Florence at 9:50 AM. No more flights after that until 4:40 PM. Anybody have ideas about the odds of making the connection? I am meeting my brother who is flying from Boston and we will be on same flight to Florence. Since it is a code-share and there are no flights for 8 hours, will they hold the flight for us? Is there a good chance some of the passengers on the Atlanta-Milan flight are also connecting to Florence? My back up plan is a train but my brother (whose flight gets in an hour earlier than mine) has never been overseas and if he makes the flight and I don't, he'll be clueless. Any reassurance would help! Thank you

You'll probably make it assuming there is no delay in your Atlanta flight. Once you land, walk quickly to the other terminal. You will have to go through passport control where there can be a long line. I've had numerous connections at Malpensa that were an hour or less and haven't missed a flight yet.

Hi Vicky,

One hour is cutting it close.

Your luggage should be booked through to Florence. If it's not, you won't make it.

If your brother makes it to Florence and you miss the plane, have him take a cab to your hotel, about 10E, and wait there for you.

I will have only a roll on that I will have with me, so not concerned about the luggage. I WAS concerned about passport control. I assume Malpensa Airport is pretty small - how long a walk between passport control and departure gates?

Malpensa is actually pretty big. If you were to walk from the terminal your International flight lands at to the domestic terminal without stopping, it could take about ten minutes.

Whether or not your luggage is booked through has nothing to do with YOU making a connection...only the luggage. Make sure it IS booked through and on a code share that is pretty much a given...although I am wondering if you are going to have to re-claim it to go through Customs/Immigration which takes some time.
You say there are no more flights for 8 hours..are you talking about ALL flights or just those on Alitalia? If you miss the connection there is nothing to say that you couldn't be booked on another airline to finish your trip.
Good luck.

In response to the last poster, I have no checked luggage. So that is not an issue. There are NO flights for 8 hours by ANYONE -- both airports very small with very few flights. So my back up is the bus to the Central train station and a train to Florence - but it takes 2 hours 45 minutes plus an hour from airport to train station - still better than 8 hour wait at airport... I've been checking the history of my flight number for past few days and it has gotten in on time or early - and the flight to Florence has departed a little late. Hoping that will be the case...