Overview
- The Lombardy administrative court, which ruled Thursday, left in place the decision to name Malpensa after Silvio Berlusconi.
- The court rejected challenges from the City of Milan and the nearby towns of Cardano al Campo, Somma Lombardo and Samarate, and it found Milan’s case inadmissible for lack of a direct territorial link.
- The judges said airport naming is not local toponymy because airports are state assets, and ENAC and the transport ministry hold the authority to set names.
- The naming followed a 2023 push by the Lombardy Regional Council and was formalized by an ENAC ordinance on July 11, 2024.
- An appeal to the Consiglio di Stato remains possible and not yet announced, while figures on the right praised the ruling and center-left leaders called the choice a bad idea.