Italy's airports are on the cusp of a major reshuffling. The operator of Milan's Malpensa and Linate airports, known as SEA, has commissioned a feasibility study on merging with SAGAT, the entity that runs Turin's Caselle Airport. Should the plan gain shareholder approval as early as next month, it would forge a single airport hub encompassing Lombardy and Piedmont, covering an estimated 940 million euros in combined revenue and serving 47.3 million passengers annually based on 2025 figures.
Why This Matters
• Shareholder vote set for September: Both the Municipality of Milan (54.8% owner of SEA) and infrastructure fund F2i (which holds 45% of SEA and 100% of SAGAT) must approve any integration before it advances.
• Strategic realignment: The tie-up would create a unified northwest Italy airport network, potentially unlocking better route planning and improved negotiating leverage with airlines.
• Government blueprint: The merger fits squarely within the National Airport Plan 2026-2035 launched by Italy's Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport in May, which groups the nation's forty-one airports into thirteen integrated systems.
The Ownership Web
The proposal sits at the intersection of public control and private capital. Milan City Hall owns the majority stake in SEA, which operates two of Italy's busiest airports: Malpensa, the intercontinental gateway, and Linate, the city airport. F2i, a major Italian infrastructure fund, controls the holding company 2i Aeroporti, which itself holds 100% of SAGAT and 45% of SEA. Adding complexity, Asterion Industrial Partners owns 49% of 2i Aeroporti, while F2i retains 51%. In May, CDP Equity—the investment arm of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti—signed a term sheet to acquire an 8.9% slice of 2i Aeroporti, trimming Asterion's holding to 41% and F2i's to 50.1%.
This tangled ownership structure explains why any integration hinges on a September board meeting: both Milan City Hall and F2i must weigh the financial and strategic merits of joining the two companies. Milan's mayor, Giuseppe Sala, has said the city would consider diluting its stake only "if there is an opportunity for industrial development in the interest of the country," ruling out asset sales purely to raise cash. Turin's mayor, Stefano Lo Russo, though the city no longer holds equity in SAGAT, is monitoring the talks closely to ensure the deal bolsters Turin's airport rather than leaving it as a junior partner.
What Replaces the Bergamo Deal
The SEA-SAGAT feasibility study represents a course correction. SEA already holds around 30% of SACBO, the operator of Bergamo Orio al Serio Airport—a popular low-cost hub northeast of Milan. A full merger between SEA and SACBO had been floated but never materialized, reportedly due to valuation disagreements and governance concerns. Journalist Jacopo Tondelli, writing for the online daily Gli Stati Generali, was the first to flag the Turin alternative, framing it as a way for Milan to unlock value in its airport holdings without ceding day-to-day control to private shareholders.
The pivot toward Turin has several advantages. SAGAT is wholly owned by 2i Aeroporti, meaning F2i can negotiate directly without navigating a patchwork of local stakeholders. Turin Caselle, while smaller than Milan's airports, has approved a 114 million euro master plan running through 2032, covering terminal expansion, apron upgrades, and new taxiways. The airport is also adding routes in 2026, positioning itself as a secondary international gateway for northwestern Italy. Merging with SEA would give Turin access to Milan's corporate relationships, shared procurement, and joint marketing campaigns.
The National Airport Plan's Thirteen Systems
At the national level, Italy's Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the civil aviation authority ENAC unveiled the National Airport Plan 2026-2035 on May 12, setting a target of 305 million passengers per year by 2035. The plan abandons the old model of forty-one independent catchment areas, instead grouping airports into thirteen systems meant to eliminate redundancies and coordinate schedules. The northwest system, for instance, initially paired Genoa, Turin, and Cuneo, while the Lombardy system included Malpensa, Linate, Bergamo, and Brescia.
However, the SEA-SAGAT merger would blur those boundaries, effectively spanning two of the ministry's clusters. Proponents argue the flexibility is justified by geography: Malpensa already draws passengers from Piedmont, and Turin Caselle competes with Bergamo for leisure traffic. Joining forces, they contend, would rationalize long-haul versus short-haul routes, concentrate cargo operations—Malpensa is Italy's cargo leader—and present a unified front to airlines negotiating new routes. The plan also calls for deeper intermodal integration, linking airports to high-speed rail, a feature that would benefit both Malpensa's existing rail station and any future Turin connection.
Impact on Residents and Investors
For passengers, the immediate effects depend on how a merged company allocates capacity. Malpensa would likely retain its intercontinental and cargo role, while Linate continues serving domestic and intra-European business routes. Turin Caselle could capture overspill leisure traffic and selected point-to-point connections, especially to destinations in southern Italy and the Mediterranean. The risk is that route duplication gets eliminated before new services materialize, leaving travelers with fewer daily frequencies on certain city pairs.
From a municipal finance perspective, Milan City Hall stands to benefit if the merged entity commands a higher valuation, translating into a larger asset on the city's balance sheet. The mayor's insistence on maintaining majority control suggests Milan wants to preserve its say over airport fees, concession terms, and development plans. Turin, lacking an ownership stake, is left hoping for contractual safeguards—such as minimum investment commitments or board representation clauses—that prevent the airport from being relegated to a feeder role.
Investors in F2i, Asterion, and CDP Equity are watching the September timetable. A successful integration would create Italy's second-largest airport group by passenger volume, trailing only Aeroporti di Roma (which runs Fiumicino and Ciampino). The combined entity would enjoy economies of scale in ground handling, IT systems, and regulatory compliance, potentially lifting profitability and yielding better returns on the infrastructure funds' capital. The entrance of CDP Equity signals state interest in consolidating strategic assets, a trend that could extend to other sectors if the airport trial proves successful.
What Happens Next
The study currently underway will model financial projections, legal structures, and governance arrangements. Key questions include whether SEA absorbs SAGAT outright or whether a new holding company sits atop both; how debt is allocated; and what commitments are made to preserve jobs and investments at each airport. If shareholders approve the framework in September, the plan would enter a due-diligence phase, followed by formal merger documents and regulatory review. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has signaled support for consolidation in line with the national plan, but the Italian Competition Authority will scrutinize any agreement to ensure it does not create monopolistic pricing on routes where the merged airports overlap.
Environmental groups are also likely to weigh in during the Strategic Environmental Assessment (VAS) process that is currently evaluating the National Airport Plan at the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security. Expanding capacity at Malpensa or Turin Caselle triggers noise and emissions concerns, and any final agreement will need to include sustainability measures—electric ground vehicles, renewable energy installations, and noise-abatement procedures—to align with the European Union's Green Deal.
For now, the timeline points to a decision point in four weeks, when the boards of SEA and 2i Aeroporti, along with representatives of Milan City Hall, convene to review the feasibility findings. Whether the result is a full merger, a joint-venture operating company, or a return to the drawing board will shape the competitive landscape of Italian aviation for the next decade.
