Olivier Cleynen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped
Italy’s second-busiest passenger airport received its official honorary name on September 25, 2026. A Terminal 1 ceremony dedicated Milan Malpensa as Aeroporto Internazionale Milano Malpensa Silvio Berlusconi, with a plaque unveiled in front of national and regional officials and members of the Berlusconi family, La Stampa reported.
The traveler decision is narrower than the ceremony. Tickets, boarding passes, and the IATA code stay on MXP. New official signage is what ENAC asked operator SEA to install. If the trip continues into the city after landing, Deep Arrival’s Milan things to do guide is the ground plan. The Associated Press, carried by the Stamford Advocate, confirms the code remains MXP. Il Sole 24 Ore independently confirmed the Terminal 1 ceremony.
- When: Official naming ceremony on September 25, 2026, at Terminal 1, with a plaque unveiled.
- Name: Aeroporto Internazionale Milano Malpensa Silvio Berlusconi, per Italian reporting of the dedication.
- Code: IATA remains MXP. Bookings and flight-status tools do not switch to a Berlusconi code.
- Signage: Italy’s civil aviation authority ENAC mandated airport operator SEA to proceed with official airport signage after an April court ruling.
- Scale: Malpensa handled 31 million passengers last year, second in Italy to Rome, according to the AP citing the aviation authority.
Terminal 1 Ceremony and the Name Passengers Will Hear
La Stampa describes the new official name as Aeroporto Internazionale Milano Malpensa Silvio Berlusconi, in use from the morning of September 25. The plaque is at Terminal 1, the same terminal Deep Arrival already covered for a later expansion. Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini, Senate President Ignazio La Russa, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Lombardy President Attilio Fontana, ENAC commissioner Carlo Mearelli, and SEA president Micaela Castelli were on the program.
Il Sole 24 Ore’s English service, citing ANSA, quotes Marina Berlusconi saying the named airport will welcome thousands of travelers a day. Paolo Berlusconi told the Terminal 1 audience that Lombardy, ENAC, SEA, and the infrastructure ministry wanted the dedication. Those are ceremonial statements. They do not rewrite a ticket.
Arrival announcements may start using the honorary name. Corriere della Sera floated the line “Malpensa Silvio Berlusconi di Milano.” Treat that as possible cabin language, not as a change to the airport code printed on a boarding pass.
MXP Stays on Tickets While SEA Updates Signage
The Associated Press states that the IATA airport code remains MXP. That is the load-bearing booking fact. Search, rebook, and bag-tag systems keep using MXP. The honorary name sits on signage and in speeches. It does not create a new three-letter code.
La Stampa reports that after the Lombardy regional administrative court rejected challenges on April 23, 2026, ENAC mandated SEA to proceed with the airport’s new official signage. That is the operational follow-through: wayfinding and branded boards inside the campus, not a change to airline reservation systems.
Expect mixed labels for a while. Some boards and websites will still say Milano Malpensa. Some will add Silvio Berlusconi. If a rideshare pin, hotel shuttle, or train ticket says MXP or Malpensa, that is still this airport. Do not look for a second Milan international code.
April Court Ruling That Cleared the Dedication
Milan’s city hall and three nearby Lombardy towns, Cardano al Campo, Samarate, and Somma Lombardo, sued to stop the name. They argued that cities, not the civil aviation authority, control place names, and that Italian law waits ten years after a person’s death before monuments. Berlusconi died in Milan in 2023 at 86.
The AP and La Stampa both report that the Lombardy court in April declared the challenges inadmissible or unfounded and confirmed ENAC’s process. Judges described the dedication as mainly symbolic and honorific, and treated national airports as distinct from ordinary street naming. That ruling is why the September 25 plaque could go up.
Milan Mayor Beppe Sala did not attend, which Salvini noted from the stage. That political dispute does not change whether a passenger can check in at Terminal 1 or Terminal 2 this weekend.
Named Italian Airports and Malpensa’s Place in the Network
The AP places Malpensa next to other Italian airports already named for historical figures: Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport, Venice’s Marco Polo airport, and Verona’s airport named for the Latin poet Valerio Catullo. Those honorary names never replaced their IATA codes either. Fiumicino remains FCO. Venice remains VCE.
Malpensa is Italy’s second-busiest passenger airport, with 31 million passengers last year against 51 million at Rome, the AP reports from the aviation authority. It handles more cargo than Rome and sits in the industrial north. Three daily Emirates flights are not the story here; any carrier using MXP is on the same named campus.
Terminal 1 is also the site of a multi-year expansion. Deep Arrival’s earlier report on the Malpensa Terminal 1 expansion opening its first phase in summer 2027 remains the construction calendar. The Berlusconi name does not move those dates.
Passenger Checklist for the Named Malpensa Campus
For a flight this week, keep using MXP in airline apps, Google Flights, and train bookings to the airport. Allow the usual Malpensa connection time. The plaque is in Terminal 1 arrivals ceremonial space, not a new security process.
If a driver or hotel asks which airport, say Milan Malpensa, MXP. Linate is a different Milan airport with a different code. The honorary name does not merge the two. If signage already shows Silvio Berlusconi beside Malpensa, that is the same campus ENAC authorized SEA to mark.
Watch for delayed sign swaps. ENAC’s mandate is to proceed with official signage, not a promise that every wayfinding panel flipped on September 25. Photographers at Terminal 1 documented a plaque. That is not the same as every highway board from Milan updating overnight.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Already hold a ticket into or out of MXP | Keep the booking. The September 25 name does not change the IATA code, terminal assignment, or airline schedule by itself. |
| Are booking a new Milan flight | Search MXP or Milan Malpensa. Do not wait for a Berlusconi code that is not being issued. |
| Are meeting a driver or hotel shuttle | Say Milan Malpensa, Terminal 1 or 2 as your airline lists it. The honorary name is extra context, not a second airport. |
| Are connecting to the city | Use the same Malpensa Express and road options as before, then the Milan city plan linked above. |
September 25, 2026 is the dedication date. The honorary name is now the official one used at the Terminal 1 ceremony and in Italian coverage.
MXP remains the booking code. Apps, bag tags, and flight-status pages should still resolve to Milan Malpensa.
SEA signage is the visible follow-through. ENAC mandated official airport signage after the April 23, 2026 court ruling. Expect mixed boards until that work finishes.
What is Milan Malpensa Airport called now?
As of the September 25, 2026 Terminal 1 ceremony, Italian coverage uses Aeroporto Internazionale Milano Malpensa Silvio Berlusconi. The IATA code remains MXP.
Does the Berlusconi name change the MXP airport code?
No. The Associated Press reports that the IATA code stays MXP. Book and check flights with MXP.
Where was the Malpensa naming ceremony?
Terminal 1, with a plaque unveiled on September 25, 2026, in the presence of national officials, Lombardy leaders, ENAC, SEA, and Berlusconi family members.
Will airport signs say Silvio Berlusconi?
ENAC mandated SEA to proceed with official signage after the April court ruling. A Terminal 1 plaque is up. Other boards may update over time rather than overnight.
Is Linate also named for Berlusconi?
No. This dedication is Milan Malpensa. Linate is a separate Milan airport with its own code. Do not interchange the two.
Did a court block the Malpensa name?
Milan and three nearby towns sued. The Lombardy administrative court rejected those challenges on April 23, 2026, which cleared ENAC and SEA to complete the dedication.
