Cabin Disinfection at Milan Linate (LIML)

What changes at Milan Linate?

Milan Linate sits at 353 feet elevation, seven kilometres from Milan city centre, and operates H24 without curfew. Runway 17/35 measures 2,442 metres—redesignated from 18/36 with AIRAC A10/23 in November 2023. The airport is slot-coordinated, so PPR and precise turnaround windows matter. Five handling agents operate here, and general aviation moves through the dedicated Linate Prime terminal, managed by SEA Prime.

For cabin disinfection, this means coordination begins before you land. We work airside under handler escort, and every appointment is tied to your slot and stand assignment. The short taxi from apron to terminal keeps ground time predictable, but the slot discipline means we cannot stretch a two-hour window into three. If your aircraft arrives late or requires decon work after a medical charter, we adjust the scope—not the departure time—so you hold your outbound slot.

The proximity to Milan brings year-round traffic, and the H24 licence allows night positioning. Winter fog occasionally closes the field, but when the airport is open, we are on call. Linate Prime's infrastructure supports GPU and conditioned air, so we disinfect with systems running and the cabin at a stable temperature, which matters for dwell time and for passenger comfort if you board immediately after treatment.

How does airside access work for cabin disinfection at Linate?

We hold permanent airside passes and coordinate through your handler. Once your aircraft is on stand and chocked, the handler radios us; we meet the aircraft with our kit already prepared. If you are parked at Linate Prime's dedicated apron, access is straightforward—no long drives across the field, no waiting for escort vehicles. The handler confirms the stand number, verifies our pass and clears us to approach.

You or your cabin crew open the door and walk us through any specific concerns: a galley spill, smoke odour from the previous leg, or a request to prioritise the lavatory. We photograph the cabin before we begin, treat every surface on the checklist, then photograph again. The handler does not wait on the ramp; they return to the terminal and we call when we are ten minutes from finish. That window gives you time to review the work, sign off and close up before the next service—whether that is catering, fuel or departure prep.

What does the disinfection process cover?

We treat every high-touch surface and the entire air path. Seats, armrests, tables, latches, switches, seatbelt buckles; galley counters, drawer handles, coffee-maker panels; lavatory taps, flush buttons, door locks, mirror surrounds; cabin sidewalls where passengers lean; air vents, gaspers and the visible grille work around return-air intakes. We use aviation-approved disinfectants that leave no residue on leather, Alcantara, veneer or soft-touch plastic, and we follow OEM guidance for no-touch avionics and cabin-management screens.

Odour removal is included. If the previous charter left smoke, food or fuel smell, we apply a neutraliser after disinfection—not a masking fragrance, a compound that breaks down odour molecules. The treatment needs twenty to thirty minutes of dwell time with air running, so we coordinate with your GPU schedule. When we finish, you receive a certificate of treatment with the aircraft registration, date, time and a summary of products used. That certificate travels in your tech log or stays with the FBO if you are positioning out immediately.

How long does cabin disinfection take, and when should I book it?

A typical disinfection takes one to two hours, depending on cabin size and configuration. A super-midsize six-seater with a single lavatory sits at the short end; an ultra-long-range layout with two lavatories, a full galley, a divan and a separate crew rest pushes toward two hours. We do not rush the dwell time—disinfectants need contact time to work, and odour neutralisers need air circulation.

We recommend booking after every charter leg, after any medical or medevac flight, and after long-haul rotations where the cabin has been occupied for eight or more hours. If your aircraft is part of a managed fleet with back-to-back charters, a daily disinfection between legs becomes the baseline. For owner-flown aircraft on a European tour, book us at the first Italian stop and again before you leave if the cabin has seen heavy use.

At Linate, slot coordination means we need forty-eight hours' notice for daytime arrivals and seventy-two for night positioning. If you are AOG or diverting for weather, we will make it work, but the handler will need to confirm stand availability and adjust the turnaround sequence. Call us as soon as you have an ETA.

What does the handler expect from the crew during disinfection?

The handler expects you to have requested the service through them or directly with us, so they know we are coming and can add us to the ramp-access list. They will ask for an estimated time on stand and whether you need GPU, air or both. If you are disinfecting mid-turnaround—between an inbound charter and an outbound positioning, for example—they need to know the sequence: disinfection first, then catering, or catering while we work in the aft cabin.

When we arrive, the handler expects the door open, the airstair down and a crew member available for a thirty-second brief. They do not expect to supervise us—we work independently once cleared—but they do expect a call when we are finished so they can log the service and update the departure checklist. If you change the scope mid-job (add a carpet spot-clean, for instance), tell the handler so they can adjust the ground-time estimate and protect your slot.

Do you provide documentation and a photo report?

Yes. Every disinfection includes a certificate of treatment with the aircraft registration, ICAO airport code, date, start and finish times, and a list of the disinfectants and neutralisers used. The certificate is signed by the technician on site and countersigned by our duty manager. You receive a PDF by email within two hours of completion, and we keep a copy in our records for two years.

The photo report is standard: before-and-after images of the cabin from the main-door threshold, close-ups of high-touch areas (galley, lavatory, cockpit door handle), and a shot of the product labels so your director of maintenance or your charter client can verify compliance. If you are operating under an air-operator certificate that requires documented disinfection between flights, the certificate and the photos together satisfy the requirement. We have never had a photo report challenged by an authority or an auditor.