easyJet
, as the designated remedy taker of ITA Airways’ slots at Milan Linate Airport (LIN), has announced new routes and additional frequencies from Milan’s second airport to the United Kingdom, as well as other airports throughout Europe, including key Lufthansa Group hubs.
New UK routes from Linate
On December 11, easyJet announced new routes and its growing presence in the UK, which included new flights from/to Milan Linate Airport
(LIN). The airline will launch itineraries from Milan-Linate to Edinburgh Airport
(EDI) and Manchester Airport
(MAN), with the first flights beginning on March 30, 2025.
In addition, easyJet will add a second daily flight from Milan-Linate to London Gatwick Airport
(LGW). Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that no carrier had served Edinburgh or Manchester from Linate since the pandemic ended in 2022.
Photo: PhotographerKevin360 | Shutterstock
The airline highlighted that these routes will connect the UK with its newest base at the Milanese airport. The European Commission (EC) indirectly enabled the start of these itineraries, which approved easyJet as the remedy taker for short-haul flights to alleviate competition concerns following Lufthansa Group’s purchase of an initial stake in ITA Airways.
In addition to a new base at Milan-Linate, where easyJet will place five aircraft, the low-cost carrier will also add a three-aircraft base at Rome Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport
(FCO) from March 30, 2025.
Ali Gayward, the UK Country Manager of easyJet, stated that its investment in two new bases in Italy will also benefit the airline’s customers in the UK with convenient connections to major European cities.
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Growing in Italy
As a result, easyJet will now have four bases in Italy, including Milan Malpensa Airport
(MXP) and Naples International Airport (NAP). For now, the low-cost carrier has planned 974 weekly departures from the four airports, resulting in 178,454 weekly seats being scheduled from the quartet of bases in August 2025, the peak summer season.
However, the data does not include the latest additions, including the newly announced plans for flights to the UK from Milan-Linate. Furthermore, easyJet published its new route list from Linate, which includes 16 new destinations from the airport, including Edinburgh and Manchester, on its Italian website.
The new routes include flights to key Lufthansa Group
hubs, namely Brussels Airport
(BRU), 
Frankfurt Airport
(FRA), and Vienna Airport (VIE), as well as leisure destinations, such as Ibiza Airport (IBZ), Split Airport (SPU), and Tenerife South Airport (TFS).
easyJet also announced that it would operate itineraries in four new directions from Milan-Malpensa: Hamburg Airport (HAM), Dusseldorf Airport (DUS), Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport
(CDG), and Harstad/Narvik Airport (EVE).
New routes from Rome-Fiumicino include flights to Brussels, Munich Airport
(MUC), Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Zurich Airport
(ZRH), all of which are hubs – or bases in the case of Eurowings
and Hamburg – for Lufthansa Group airlines.
The maps above display all of easyJet’s newly announced routes from Milan-Linate, Milan-Malpensa, and Rome Fiumicino.
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Remedy takers
When the EC finally approved Lufthansa Group’s acquisition of 41% shares of ITA Airways
from the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze, MEF) in November, easyJet was just one of the remedy takers to facilitate the deal.
To gain the EC’s approval, the two shareholders, namely 
Lufthansa Group
and MEF, had to enter into agreements with rival carriers to improve their competitive position on long-haul direct or one-stop routes between Italy and North America.
Photo: Cineberg | Shutterstock
This would be achieved through either interlining agreements or slot swaps, with Air France-KLM
and the International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, and others, becoming the designated remedy takers for long-haul routes.
The EC’s approval came on November 29, more than a year later after Lufthansa Group and the MEF notified the Commission about the transaction on November 23, 2023. The two sides announced the initial stake acquisition and the potential full buyout of MEF’s remaining ITA Airways shares in May 2023.
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