Sea investe 600 milioni per la crescita di Malpensa

The Malpensa Airport is embarking on a new phase of development, with around 600 million euros of investments planned by 2029. Out of this, 50 million euros will be allocated to technology. The goal is to make Malpensa, the second-largest national airport after Rome Fiumicino in terms of passenger traffic and the leading Italian airport in terms of cargo traffic, stronger and more attractive on the global air transport market.

This was stated by Armando Brunini, the CEO of Sea, the company managing the airport, during the "Malpensa, gateway to Italy. Milan and Lombardy seen worldwide" event held at the airport on September 17, 2026. Attendees included the presidents of Assolombarda, Alvise Biffi, and Confindustria Varese, Luigi Galdabini, and the President of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana.

Brunini explained that in the Sea 2025-2029 plan, annual investments have doubled. The focus will be partly on creating new infrastructure and spaces, as well as a complete makeover of the airport. Passenger and cargo traffic are two dimensions that strengthen Malpensa's role as a strategic infrastructure for the competitiveness and attractiveness of Milan and Lombardy.

A key project is the over 100 million euros for the T1XL (Teminal 1 extra large) project, an expansion and renovation of Terminal 1 promoted by Sea. This project will extend T1 northward, creating about 15,000 square meters of new space and renovating over 28,000 square meters of existing areas, enhancing passenger facilities, improving flow management, and expanding service offerings.

Malpensa is one of the main infrastructures through which Milan connects to the world, and its growth is closely tied to the city and Lombardy's growing international ambitions. Brunini emphasized that Malpensa connects Milan to 204 destinations in 83 countries, confirming its role as a gateway to international markets. The airport also serves as a strategic platform for the production system: in 2025, it moved 763,000 tons of cargo, accounting for more than 60% of national air cargo.

In the past two years, 16 new long-haul destinations were activated at Malpensa. After the strong strengthening of connections with Asia, Malpensa is expanding its presence towards North America and Latin America. Washington will be one of the 7 destinations in the United States, with an average of about 12 flights per day. From 2027, Mexico City will connect Milan to Mexico for the first time.

New routes mean new opportunities for Milan, the economic system, tourism, and international relations. Regarding the possible integration between Sea and Sagat, the operator of the Turin airport, Brunini clarified: "There is an ongoing study. Our expertise is to evaluate the synergies and industrial value of this hypothesis, and we will have our conclusions ready in a few weeks.

By October, we will deliver our findings to the partners, who will then evaluate them." In the case of Sea, the majority shareholder is the City of Milan (54.81%), while 2i Aeroporti (participated by F2i fund) holds 45.01%. Sagat's capital is held entirely by 2i Aeroporti. Biffi added that while mergers usually lead to more efficiency, better services for users, the company does not have sufficient evidence to express a valuation.

For industrial stakeholders, what matters is investing in Malpensa's development and its accessibility. The challenge is to transform Malpensa's international connections into the ability to attract investments. Galdabini noted that Malpensa is an industry that employs, including employees, over 40,000 people and generates an annual revenue of 13-14 billion. Malpensa is a fundamental infrastructure for our production system.