Italy officially renames Milan Malpensa Airport after former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi

Official ceremony at Terminal 1

Milan's Malpensa Airport officially adopted the name of former prime minister and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi on Friday, 25 September 2026. A formal ceremony held in the arrivals area of Terminal 1 unveiled the new official designation, Milan Malpensa International Airport Silvio Berlusconi. Several senior Italian officials attended the event, including Senate President Ignazio La Russa, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, and Lombardy Regional President Attilio Fontana. Foreign Minister and Forza Italia leader Antonio Tajani addressed the gathering through a video message, describing Berlusconi as a statesman who reshaped Italian political language. Extraordinary commissioner of aviation authority ENAC Carlo Mearelli and SEA airport authority president Michaela Castelli were also present alongside representatives of the Berlusconi family.

Family reflections on the tribute

Members of the Berlusconi family welcomed the dedication as a fitting recognition of his public and business career. Marina Berlusconi, the late leader's eldest child and chair of family holding company Fininvest and publishing house Mondadori, spoke about the symbolic role of the airport.

The realization that the Silvio Berlusconi Milan-Malpensa Airport will welcome thousands of travellers from all over the world every day fills me with pride and emotion. What better name could there be for a bridge like this than Silvio Berlusconi? He was a man who always sought dialogue with everyone.

His brother Paolo Berlusconi delivered a speech from the stage at Terminal 1, thanking authorities on behalf of the family, including nieces and nephews Barbara, Marina, Pier Silvio, Eleonora, and Luigi. He recalled his brother's belief that Italy was his homeland while Europe represented its future, framing the international airport as a gateway connecting the country to the world.

Our homeland is Italy, he used to say, but our future is Europe, and therefore what better contribution to Silvio's memory than to give his name to the gateway to Europe and the world that this airport represents?

Berlusconi's final partner, Forza Italia deputy Marta Fascina, shared a public message on Instagram noting that his presence would accompany passengers departing from the facility.

Political friction and legal appeals

The renaming followed intense political dispute between national authorities and local administrators. Milan's centre-left mayor, Giuseppe Sala, boycotted the ceremony after unsuccessfully challenging the renaming in court. Sala and surrounding municipalities filed appeals with the Lombardy Regional Administrative Court, arguing that ENAC acted unilaterally without consulting local elected bodies. The municipal challenges also cited a national regulation that generally requires a 10-year waiting period following a person's death before naming public locations in their honor. In April, the administrative tribunal dismissed the lawsuits, determining that state-owned airport infrastructure serving national and international transit falls outside municipal naming rules.

Implementation and operational details

Following the dismissal of the municipal legal challenges, ENAC instructed airport operator SEA to update the signage across the terminal facilities. For travelers, the operational impact of the renaming remains minimal, as the airport retains its international IATA code MXP on tickets and baggage tags. The airport website had not yet adopted the updated title by midday on Friday.

The formal adoption on 25 September concluded a process initiated shortly after Berlusconi died on 12 June 2023 at the age of 86. The Lombardy Regional Council approved an initial motion on 20 June 2023, followed by ENAC's formal approval in July 2024 with the clearance of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.