Bresso Airfield (, ), also known as Aeroporto Giampiero Clerici, is an

aerodrome An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes inc ...

Bresso Bresso ( Milanese: ) is a municipality (''comune'') in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan. As of 2025, it has a population of 26,530 inhabitants and a population density of 7,849 persons/k ...

, in the

Milan metropolitan area The Milan metropolitan area, also known as Grande Milano ("Greater Milan"), is the largest metropolitan area in Italy and the List of metropolitan areas by population, 54th largest in the world. Definition Given the absence of an official ...

Originally built in 1912, the field served as a ''factory airfield'' until the nearby Breda factory expanded its production to military aircraft for

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. From 1931 to 1933 it housed the Regia Aeronautica's Terzo Stormo. On April 30, 1944, the Breda factory and the airfield were heavily bombed by 53 American

Boeing B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

. Seven aircraft and a few hangars went completely destroyed. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the airport was mostly used as a military flying training camp and to field fighter aircraft as part of the defence system of the city. In 1960, it became the permanent site of the '' Aero Club Milano''. Since then the airport mostly serves as a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

airfield for flying club activity, touristic flights and air taxi. It also hosts a base of the state helicopter emergency service ''Elisoccorso''. On June 3, 2012, on the occasion of the seventh

World Meeting of Families The World Meeting of Families is a gathering of the Roman Catholic Church that has occurred every three years since 1994. It is organized by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, which "promotes the pastoral care of families, protects their r ...

promoted by the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated a mass on the tarmac in front of a million of pilgrims.

Runway

The airport runway is long and wide. It has a magnetic orientation (QFU) 36/18.

Frequencies

*Bresso Radio 122.005 *Milano Informazioni 124.925 *Linate Tower 118.100 *Milano Approach 126.300

References

Metropolitan City of Milan Airports in Milan {{Italy-airport-stub