I cannot block the decision because Enav is an independent body - but... we can evaluate this decision to see if they have been too harsh

Italian Transport Minister Pietro Lunardi

The old 75m limit also applied at Milan's bigger airport, Malpensa, and at Bologna, Trieste and Bergamo. The limit at Fiumicino airport was 300m.

The changes are expected to cause significant disruption to flights, especially at Linate, which is regularly hit by foggy conditions.

Milan's Malpensa airport will also be badly affected, with thick fog for an average of three hours a day for a couple of weeks each year. Fiumicino is affected for about 45 minutes around 10 days each year.

Visibility at Linate at the time of the SAS crash was around 100m.

Visibility was down to 100m when the planes collided

Italy's Transport Minister, Pietro Lunardi, was unhappy at the new limits, which he called "paralysing".

"I cannot block the decision because Enav is an independent body," he told Reuters news agency.

Anpac believes raising the limit is fine to an extent, but why take this decision now only after an air disaster

Anpac pilots' union spokesman

"But... we can evaluate this decision to see if they have been too harsh and see if we can find an alternative solution."

Italy's commercial pilot's union, Anpac, described the measures as too much, too late.

"Anpac believes raising the limit is fine to an extent, but why take this decision now only after an air disaster?" spokesman Commander Franco Berti said.

He said Enav looked as if it was trying to appear responsible and tough-minded after the event.

Enav spokeswoman Nicoletta Tomiselli said the decision was prompted by the airports' failure to install adequate runway warning light systems.

An inquiry into the Milan disaster is still examining whether the airport's ground radar, which was out of service at the time, could have prevented the crash.