Lombardy Rail Strike Tests Malpensa Airport Links

Published on Nov 16, 2025, 11:14 am CST

7 min read

Key points

Trenord's November 16 strike runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:59 p.m. CET and hits regional, suburban, long distance, and airport services in Lombardy
Canceled Malpensa Express trains are being covered by non stop buses between Milano Cadorna and Malpensa Terminal 1, plus Stabio links for S50 connections
The strike falls outside Italy's usual weekday protection bands, so there are no guaranteed minimum Trenord services during the core 10:00 a.m. to 5:59 p.m. window
Cross border services toward Ticino and Domodossola may be altered, adding pressure to remaining trains and buses around Milan and Malpensa
Italy's Level 2 State Department advisory remains focused on terrorism, so this is an operational disruption that mainly requires buffer time and backup plans

Impact

Airport Transfers: Allow at least 60 to 90 extra minutes for trips between Milan and Malpensa Airport during the 10:00 a.m. to 5:59 p.m. CET strike window
Ground Alternatives: Use direct non stop buses from Milano Cadorna and cross border buses via Stabio, or prebook taxis, hotel shuttles, and ride shares if trains are canceled
Cross Border Trips: If you are connecting from Switzerland or Domodossola, confirm whether your S50 or regional train is running and be ready to switch to buses on short notice
Long Haul Connections: Travelers with long haul flights at Malpensa should consider retiming to early morning or late evening, or build wide buffers so a missed train does not break the itinerary
On The Day Monitoring: Rely on official Trenord and Malpensa Express apps, station boards, and airline alerts rather than static timetables while the strike is in effect

Travelers who planned to ride the train to or from Milan Malpensa Airport on Sunday, November 16, 2025, are now facing concrete disruption rather than a theoretical risk. An eight hour regional rail strike at operator Trenord, from 1000 a.m. to 559 p.m. CET, is cutting frequencies on Lombardy's regional, suburban, long distance, and airport services, including the Malpensa Express, with canceled departures replaced by non stop buses and some cross border links diverted to road coaches instead of rails.

The core change from earlier planning guidance is that Malpensa access is being actively managed with specific bus substitutions and a timetable that has moved from "may be disrupted" into confirmed cancellations, so trips that usually involve a simple train hop now require wider buffers and backup options.

Trenord Strike And Malpensa Express Service

Trenord's notice confirms that the ORSA union has called a regional strike in Lombardy on Sunday, November 16, 2025, from 1000 a.m. to 559 p.m. During that window, regional, suburban, airport, and long distance trains operated by Trenord may be delayed, altered, or canceled, with only limited protection for trains that depart before 1000 a.m. and are scheduled to arrive by 1100 a.m. CET.

Because the strike falls on a Sunday and is concentrated in the late morning and afternoon, it sits outside the weekday rush hour "fasce di garanzia," the guaranteed minimum service bands that normally protect some commuter services in early morning and early evening peaks. Italian rail guidance and local mobility coverage both stress that no such guaranteed bands apply here, so actual service depends on how many staff walk off the job.

Ahead of the strike, Adept Traveler's November 13 article flagged this date as one part of a three step disruption pattern in Italy, linking Lombardy's rail stoppage to a November 14 air traffic and city transport strike and a November 27 to 28 national rail walkout. Today's confirmed replacement bus plan and real time cancellations at Malpensa sharpen that forecast into an immediate airport access problem.

Latest developments

For Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP), the most important development is that the airport rail link is being propped up by dedicated buses wherever Malpensa Express or S50 trains do not operate. Official Malpensa Express guidance states that, in case of a strike affecting Malpensa Express, canceled trains between Milano Cadorna and Malpensa are replaced by non stop buses that depart from Via Paleocapa 1, beside Cadorna station, and run directly to Malpensa Terminal 1 with no intermediate stops.

The same policy applies on the cross border S50 route toward Ticino. When S50 trains between Stabio and Malpensa are canceled, replacement buses run directly between Stabio and Malpensa Terminal 1, again without intermediate stops. Trenitalia and Rail Europe advisories add that regional trains between Milan and Domodossola, and airport connections between Malpensa and Bellinzona, may also face alterations during the strike.

Italian and local mobility outlets emphasize that trains scheduled to depart before 1000 a.m. and arrive by 1100 a.m. should run, but once the strike window opens, travelers must expect last minute cancellations, skeleton timetables, and irregular headways across the Trenord network. Since this is a Sunday, the impact is particularly sharp for airport travelers and weekend trippers rather than daily commuters, which means queues for replacement buses and pressure on taxis and ride shares instead of office workers scrambling for alternative trains.

The United States still frames Italy's risk profile through a terrorism lens rather than a strike related security shift. The U.S. State Department's country page and the embassy in Italy both keep the nation at Level 2, Exercise increased caution, due to the possibility of terrorist violence, not because of labor actions, so travelers are dealing with an operational disruption rather than a change in baseline safety.

Analysis

From a planning standpoint, the November 16 strike turns Malpensa's usual advantage, a predictable rail link from central Milan, into a more fragile corridor that depends on replacement buses and road traffic. The buses maintain a technical guarantee of connectivity, but they introduce new variables, including vehicle availability, congestion at Cadorna and along the highway, and boarding bottlenecks when multiple canceled trains funnel into the same coach queue.

The safest way to manage long haul flights on this date is to move the most time sensitive arrivals or departures outside the 1000 a.m. to 559 p.m. CET window wherever possible. Early morning or late evening flights, paired with trains that run before the strike or after it ends, greatly reduce the chance that a canceled Malpensa Express service will cascade into a missed intercontinental connection.

For travelers who cannot avoid the strike hours, the key is to treat the bus as the primary plan, not a fallback. That means planning to start from Milano Cadorna with enough lead time to queue for the replacement coach, being prepared to walk to Via Paleocapa 1 rather than waiting on a random curb, and confirming whether your ticket is valid on the bus segment, which it normally is when the bus directly replaces a canceled airport train.

Cross border travelers coming from Ticino or from regional routes toward Domodossola face an additional layer of complexity. The strike notices and third party advisories explicitly warn that S50 and Malpensa Airport to Bellinzona links may be changed, which means a simple one seat ride may turn into a combination of regional train and dedicated bus, or even a full coach journey on the Italian side. Allow extra time at Stabio, and consider whether it is safer to overnight in Milan the night before a major flight rather than trusting a same day rail to air connection across the border during the strike.

Background

Italian rail strikes follow a predictable legal framework that requires advance notice, publishes some lists of "guaranteed" trains, and often concentrates actions in defined time bands. In exchange, operators can plan reduced timetables and replacement services, which is why Trenord, Malpensa Express, and national operators are able to pre announce the bus links between Milano Cadorna, Stabio, and Malpensa Airport for November 16. For travelers, that structure can still feel chaotic, because the real experience on the day depends on how many staff actually strike, how weather and road traffic interact with the bus plan, and how quickly information flows through apps, websites, and station boards.

Final thoughts

The Lombardy rail strike on November 16 does not make Italy unsafe, but it does change how reliable Malpensa Airport links are during the middle of the day. By moving airport access from rails to buses on canceled Malpensa Express and S50 services, and by thinning out other regional and cross border trains, the strike turns what is usually a simple, clockwork transfer into a trip that needs extra margin and a clear Plan B.

Travelers who recognize that reality, adjust flight times where possible, use Milano Cadorna's non stop buses as the default airport connector, and keep taxis, hotel shuttles, or ride shares in reserve will still be able to move through Milan and Malpensa on November 16. The key is to respect the limits of the strike window rather than planning inside it, then rely on official rail and airport channels, along with Adept Traveler's earlier November strike overview, for live updates as conditions evolve.