Milan Malpensa Airport (IATA: MXP, ICAO: LIMC) is the largest international airport in northern Italy, serving Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria, as well as the Swiss Canton of Ticino. The airport is 49 kilometres (30 mi) northwest of Milan, next to the Ticino river dividing Lombardy and Piedmont. In 2019, Malpensa Airport handled 28,846,299 passengers and was the 20th busiest airport in Europe in terms of passengers and 2nd busiest airport in Italy in terms of passengers. Until 2008, Malpensa Airport was a major hub for flag carrier Alitalia. Malpensa Airport remains the second-busiest Italian airport for international passenger traffic (after Rome Fiumicino Airport), and the busiest for freight and cargo, handling over 747,000 tons of international freight annually. The airport was opened in 1909 by Giovanni Agusta and Gianni Caproni to test their aircraft prototypes, before switching to civil operation in 1948.
