David Rosenfeld recently previewed the interior work on his rendition of Milan Malpensa Airport (LIMC) for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The airport serves the Milan metropolitan area and has a yearly average of 26.1 million passengers.

The site where the airport was built has more than a century of aviation history, with records dating back to 1910 when the Caproni brothers flew their Cal biplane. It became a popular prototype testing site in Italy, eventually leading to its upgrade to an actual airfield.

During that same period, the Caproni brothers decided to build a factory there, and Giovanni Augusta followed suit. It became the largest aircraft production center in the country.

The airfield hosted two Royal Italian Air Force squadrons in the following decades.

In September 1943, the German Luftwaffe captured the airfield, building its first concrete runway, which didn't last long: the airfield was heavily bombed during WW2.

With the retreat of the German forces from Italy and the eventual end of the war, the runway was rebuilt and extended to 1,800 meters. A small terminal was built to shelter passengers and cargo from adverse weather conditions.

Its official inauguration was in 1948 as Aeroporto Città di Busto Arsizio, and Sabena and TWA were among the first international carriers to serve it.

In 1952, now under the control of the municipality of Milan, it was decided that Malpensa would become Milan's international airport, and Linate (Milan's other airport) would handle domestic services.

Milan's main airport needed a respectable terminal, which was built between 1958 and 1962. The runways were also extended and were the longest in Europe at the time.

Even though their original intent was to make Linate domestic-only, major European carriers preferred it over Malpensa because it was closer to the city center, transforming it into a secondary airport for over 20 years.

Things only changed in the 1980s when Linate was forcibly downgraded to domestic, and Malpensa underwent heavy upgrade work. Construction started in 1990, and it only reopened eight years later.

‍It's an operating base for AlbaStar, easyJet Europe, Malta Air, Neos, Ryanair, and Wizz Air. Aegean Airlines, Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air France, Air India, AirBaltic, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad Airways, KLM, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Scandinavian Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, and Vueling also serve it.

The developer has said that work on the interior is moving forward at full speed, and the goal is to finish it within a few weeks. Then, he is going to focus on the apron. A release date was not shared at the time, but he's aiming for late fall/early winter.

The scenery will feature an accurate rendition of the airport, with custom jetways, custom terminal interiors, custom ground textures, and more.

There's no release date or pricing yet, but Threshold will keep you informed!

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