On the morning of Sunday 28 December, three days before the end of 2025, Milan Malpensa airport has surpassed the “wall” of 31 million passengers since the beginning of the yearo.
An absolute record, always, a new milestone after that of 30 million passengers, announced in mid-December by Sea’s number one, Armando Brunini.
The Aeroporti Lombardi association reminds you that in the first year after the dehubbing of Alitalia (2009) the number of passengers per year dropped by 17,551,635 and the sum of passengers at Malpensa and those at Linate reached 25,810,734.
Added to these data is the continuous growth of Orio al Serio which went from 7,157,421 in 2009 to around 16.9 million in 2025. Which can still be considered a year of transition, given that the airport is being strengthened and expects further growth.
Twenty complex years
After the dehubbing of Alitalia in 2008, which marked the exit of the Varese airport from the national hub strategy of the national airline and led to a sharp reduction in intercontinental flights and overall traffic, Malpensa has gone through a long transition and repositioning phase. In those years the airport lost its centrality in the Italian airport system, recording a significant drop in passengers and seeing part of the connections moved to Fiumicino. The bet Lufthansa Italywhich had taken the first steps to create a new hub on the Mediterranean, proved to be a failure over time, with its farewell in 2011.
Starting from the first half of the 1910s, however, the airport began a gradual recovery, based on a different model: less dependence on a single carrier and greater openness to the international market. The strengthening of the role of low cost airlines, in particular easyJet, and theprogressive arrival of new European and non-European carriers have made it possible to rebuild a solid and diversified network of connections.
In parallel, Malpensa has consolidated its cargo vocationover time becoming the first Italian airport for cargo traffic, a strategic asset that has guaranteed stability even in times of crisis.
The growth continued until 2019, a record year before the pandemic, when the airport exceeded 28 million passengers. The two-year period 2020-2021 represented a new setback due to the global health emergency, but the restart was rapid: as early as 2022, traffic showed signs of strong recovery, driven by the return of intercontinental flights, theexpansion of routes to North America, the Middle East and Asia and by a renewed interest from large foreign carriers (with a large Chinese presence in particular).
The role of Neos, a Malpensa-based company, has also progressively strengthened, moving from only charter flights to a significant portfolio of intercontinental destinations.
The challenge of the Olympics and coexistence with the territory
It should be remembered that 2026 will be the year of the Winter Olympics, which foresee a peak in traffic before (due to the arrival of athletes and delegations) and at the time of the world event. At Malpensa – the main gateway from abroad – they are expected 340 passengers expected in just 60 daysbetween athletes, delegations, media and spectators.
In any case, the relationship between Malpensa and the territory is complex and multifaceted, intertwining economic opportunities, social dynamics and strong environmental tensions on a local and regional scale. On the one hand, the international airport represents a significant driving force for the economy of Varese and Lombardygenerating employment in the logistics, transport and services sectors, favoring the attraction of investments and stimulating the development of infrastructures connected to the airport system.
The management of passenger and freight traffic and development plans, like the Masterplan 2035are perceived by institutions and economic operators as essential to strengthen the competitiveness of the airport and the ability to attract significant international connections. However, this growth process is not without critical issues reported by the local community and environmentalist associations. In recent months various acronyms of committees and associations, united in Malpensa Committees Network and other groups, have promoted round tables and moments of public discussion to raise questions about the real impacts of infrastructure choices and the possible imbalances between economic development and protection of the environment, health and quality of life in the surrounding areas. Among the most debated topics are the effects of the Masterplan on the environment, the management of traffic and flight volumes, and the need for greater involvement of municipalities in decision-making processes, as well as land consumption.
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