Milan’s Malpensa airport was officially renamed for former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Friday, with a ceremony and plaque unveiling at Terminal 1. The airport’s public name is now presented as Silvio Berlusconi Milan-Malpensa Airport, while the operational code MXP remains unchanged.
The naming brings to a close a long political and legal dispute over one of Italy’s busiest airports. ENAC approved the renaming in 2024, but the move faced objections from Milan’s centre-left administration before a Lombardy court cleared the way in April 2026. The airport’s website had not yet fully switched to the new name at the time of the ceremony, indicating that some public-facing references may take time to catch up.
Transport minister Matteo Salvini, foreign minister Antonio Tajani, Senate president Ignazio La Russa, Lombardy president Attilio Fontana and Berlusconi family members were among those present. Malpensa is Italy’s second-busiest passenger airport, so the change carries high visibility for airlines, passengers and airport partners, even though flight operations, booking systems and baggage handling continue under the MXP code.