¶ Malpensa Tower
Malpensa Tower is responsible for TWY C from C5 southbound, RWY35L/R and Malpensa CTR Zone 1 & 2.
The position can be split in LIMC_TWR and LIMC_E_TWR:
- TWR controls runway 35L and traffic in CTR 1 and ATZ west of runway 35L and CTR 2
- E_TWR controls taxiway C, runway 35R and traffic in CTR 1 and ATZ east of runway 35R
¶ Runways
The following table shall be used to determine which runway is in use:
Traffic pattern in Malpensa is easterly for RWY 35R / 17L and westerly for 35L / 17R
Single runway operations are heavily discouraged but may be carried out on runway 35L
Between 2330 LT and 0630 LT the recommended runway configuration is 17R for departures and 35L for arrivals unless high traffic does not permit it, in this configuration all departures are held for release by Radar
¶ Taxi routings and runway crossings
¶ Routings
Malpensa (east) Tower will receive outbound aircraft for 35R at C5 from Ground North and at H1 from Ground West, it is its responsibility to assign the taxi routing for holding point CA.
For aircraft at H1 this would be C, CH, CA while for aircraft at C5 it would be C, CA. To assist with the creation of a good outbound sequence intermediate holding point C1 can be initially assigned to aircraft at H1 and C2 to aircraft at C5 to try alternating ICPs.
The only holding point available for departure on runway 35R is CA
¶ Crossings
Crossing of runway 35L / 17R is common in both runway configurations, it is always handled by LIMC_TWR 128.350 and is subject to traffic volume.
When 35R is in use for departures Tower can expect to:
- Receive M / L ACFT at HP F for crossing, from here they shall be instructed to cross 35L, hold short of C and contact E_TWR.
- Receive H ACFT at HP GW for crossing, from here they shall be instructed to cross 35L, taxi via GE and hold short of C and contact E_TWR.
In high traffic situations runway crossings shall be avoided in favor of a taxi-out via H. In any case Tower shall always advise Ground if runway crossings are available.
When 35R is in use for arrivals Tower (east) shall:
- Assign the taxi routing to hold short of 35L based on the taxiway the aircraft has vacated on and where it is parking:
- If the aircraft has vacated at D or E and is parking at stands > 456 it shall be instructed to taxi via (C and) DM, hold short of 35L and contact LIMC_TWR
- If the aircraft has vacated at D or E and is parking at stands < 456 it shall be instructed to taxi via (C and) DE, hold short of 35L and contact LIMC_TWR
- If the aircraft has vacated at AB or AA, coordinate with Ground North and instruct to taxi via A, E, C, hold short of 35L at the appropriate holding point and contact LIMC_TWR
- If the aircraft intends to park at the cargo terminal (stands 851-863) it shall be instructed to taxi via H, hold short H5 and contact W_GND
¶ IFR Departures
Handoff: all departures shall be handed off to Milano Radar ANW or, if offline, to ANE as soon as practicable.
Simultaneous TOF/LDG: Authorizing simultaneous takeoffs and landings is standard practice in Malpensa, however it shall be limited in certain situations:
- Aircraft departing 35R via DOGUB and aircraft on less than 3 NM final 35L
- Aircraft departing 35L via IRKED and aircraft on less than 3 NM final 35R
In these cases departures must not be authorized for take off until reasonable certainty exists that the landing traffic will successfully complete the landing maneuver
Hold for release: All departures via TELVA are held for release by Milano Radar (ANW) as well as departures from runway 17s when 35s are in use for departure.
Spacing: Separation between departures varies based on ICP and ACFT type, see tables below for detailed explanation.
As a rule of thumb you can do the following:
- departures on opposite ICP (e.g. SRN and DOGUB) 1 minute spacing
- departures on same ICP 1 minute or as required*
- departures with same exit gate but different ICP (e.g. SRN6L and SRN7M) 2 minute spacing
*In case of multiple departures on the same ICP and TSE spacing may be increased upon Tower discretion or Milano Radar’s request.
Note that this spacing does not account for WTC separation, the controller shall take it into consideration and increase spacing when necessary as reported in the Training Manual.
¶ IFR Arrivals
The minimum radar separation for arrivals is:
- 6 NM for runway 35L
- 4 NM for runway 35R
- 6 NM for runway 17L / R
After landing, aircraft are expected to vacate the runway expeditiously via:
- For runway 35R, taxiway D or no later than taxiway E
- For runway 35L if vacating left, taxiway L or no later than taxiway EW
- For runway 35L if vacating right, taxiway DM or no later than EM
In case of heavy traffic, to ensure the aircraft vacates quickly via the high-speed exit, the following phraseology should be used:
Eurowings 8YM, Malpensa Tower, cleared to land runway 35L, wind 180/4, plan to vacate via L
EasyJet aircraft are expected to vacate right when landing on 35L, most vpilots are unaware of this so you should use the following phreaseology:
Alpine 13XT, Malpensa Tower, cleared to land runway 35L, wind 180/4, plan to vacate right via DM
In case the traffic volume allows it and proper separation will be maintained Tower may allow a “long rollout” using this phraeology:
United 416, Malpensa Tower, cleared to land runway 35L, wind 180/4, long rollout approved
This shall be used especially with heavy or super aircraft and with EasyJet aircraft.
¶ Side-step
In low traffic situations with runway 35R used for arrivals and 35L for departure, traffic on the instrumental approach for 35R might request a visual sidestep to runway 35L to reduce taxi-in time.
In case of go around aircraft are expected to follow the missed approach of the instrumental procedure (35R)
Only allow a visual side-step when runway 35L is completely clear of traffic, and the maneuvre would not cause any significant delay to aircraft waiting to depart from the runway.
¶ Missed approach
In case of a go around, Tower shall notify Milano Radar ANW or, if offline, ANE immediately and hand over the MISAP tag.
After a go-around the next departure in the direction of the missed approach is always held for release unless otherwise coordinated with the sector above.
¶ LVP
In case of low visibility procedures the Tower controller shall enforce the following rules:
- Runway 35R shall be used for takeoffs and 35L for landing
- Runway crossings may be carried out at ATC discretion
- Intersection departures are not allowed
- Minimum radar separation increased to 10 NM for double runway operation*
*for single runway ops and LVTO, minimum separation for arriving aircraft is 12 NM or 18 NM in case of a super
Phraseology for landing aircraft is as follows:
Postman 1BK, runway 35L cleared to land, wind 030/03, RVR 200 meters
¶ VFR Flights
The following VRPs are relevant to the Tower position:
| NAME | CODE |
|---|---|
| Parabiago | MCE2 |
| Samarate | MCE3 |
| Polo industriale Busto Arsizio | MCE1 |
| Marano Ticino | MCW3 |
| Romagnano | MCW2 |
| Vaprio d’Agogna | MCW1 |
| Oleggio | MNN1 |
| Biandrate | MNSW1 |
| Trecate | MNS1 |
¶ VFR Departures and arrivals
Malpensa has mandatory VFR routes to enter / leave the CTR:
- East entry / exit route: MCE2 - MCE3 at 500 ft AGL (1300 ft AMSL)
- West entry / exit route: MCW2 - MCW3 at 500 ft AGL (1300 ft AMSL)
¶ Pattern management
VFR aircraft intending to enter the pattern must be handled wisely as they can very easily interfere with the arrival sequence especially in busy situations.
When the traffic load is high and the arrival sequence is tight, it is advisable to make the aircraft join the pattern of the runway used for departure, this prevents the need of coordinating with the approach an increase in spacing which may cause excessive and unneccessary delays.
This situation serves as an example:
- RWY in use for arrivals 35L
- RWY in use for departures 35R
- Aircraft is I-CORB, P28R over Romagnano
The course of action would be of clearing I-CORB for Romagnano - Marano Ticino and to orbit over Marano Ticino. Once it is safe to cross overhead he shall be instructed to cross and join a right pattern for runway 35R which is in use for departures. Ensure proper coordination in case both _TWR and E_TWR are online.
I-CORB cleared to cross overhead, join right downwind runway 35R
The aircraft can now safely perform pattern work without interfering with the arrival sequence, in case Tower needs to send departures out the VFR aircraft shall be instructed to orbit over Samarate.
This is the worst-case scenario in which the aircraft has to cross overhead to join the pattern, if the runways in use were inverted he would not need to cross and could join downwind directly from Marano Ticino
The Tower controller shall always keep in mind that when the workload and the traffic is high, if in doubt, it is always better to have the aircraft orbit at the CTR boundary (Parabiango / Romagnano) and clear him for entry only when able to satisfy the pilots’ request.
¶ Helicopters
Malpensa Tower will need to handle helicopters of Polizia di Stato at the helipad west of stands 330 and Leonardo helicopters and Vigili del Fuoco east of runway 35R.
The same rules as regular VFR flights apply to these helicopters which must follow the mandatory routes, the only difference being that they are allowed to depart from their designated helipads.