Airports: Malpensa point of access and hub for the global market
Turning the spotlight on air cargo, a sector that has proved to be pivotal in the moments of greatest difficulty linked to the pandemic. With this objective, Assolombarda and Unione Industriali Varese organized, with the collaboration of Sea Milan Airports, the event "The recovery starts from Malpensa: air cargo, strategic support for industries and logistics", which took place at the Assolombarda headquarters in via Pantano in Milan. An appointment that activated a focus on a sector that has once again proved to be a key element in the reshaping of the value chains for the restart of the economy.
During the initiative, all the stakeholders involved agreed on one point: Malpensa must continue to play a leading role in this economic situation, supporting the logistics and production and distribution sectors, with a view to guaranteeing competitiveness on international markets of our industry. Moreover, the Lombard air cargo sector holds extraordinary importance in the Italian economic and production system. The pandemic has put a strain on the sector which, however, reacted by recording significant data: in 2021 Malpensa Airport recorded a growth in the sector of 45% over 2020 and 36% over 2019. 'airport to receive about 70% of the goods in transit at Italian airports, exceeding the 740.000 tons foreseen in the estimates of the Masterplan between 2024 and 2025. This scenario obviously requires profound reflections on the investment and development needs of air cargo for Malpensa, moreover in line with the update of the National Airport Plan launched by ENAC.
“The air cargo sector is strategic for the restart of our territories and was decisive during the pandemic thanks to its ability to adapt and resilience - commented the president of Assolombarda, Alessandro Spada introducing the works -. Given the objective value of the sector, we have many doubts about the choice not to provide resources in the context of the PNRR for the development of airports. In fact, the need to rethink international supply chains cannot ignore a key player such as Malpensa. Moreover, it is a fundamental point of access and hub for the global market, which must be adequately exploited in order to consolidate it as a relevant European hub. The airport is crucial in this difficult economic situation characterized by the Ukrainian conflict, which urges us to start a profound review and revision of the global value chains and international exchange dynamics, placing air transport even more at the center ”.
"We cannot afford - said the President of the Industrial Union of Varese, Roberto Grassi - the bottleneck of the activities of the Cargo City of Malpensa, especially in this phase in which companies are facing the challenge of repositioning in global value chains and in the reorganization of international production chains. We ask the political-institutional system to support the Malpensa Masterplan and the related enlargement and growth of the Cargo Area, so fundamental for the future of our manufacturing. We applaud the excellent agreement recently reached in the Region on this point, thanks to the commitment of everyone: local administrations, the Lombardy Region, Sea and the social partners. An agreement that will now allow the Masterplan to arrive on the Government table with a broad consensus built on the territory. It is the proof that economic development, environmental balance, social protection can be part of a single vision of development. Supporting Malpensa means making industrial policy for the country. If today we do not make a choice in favor of Malpensa, tomorrow we should not be surprised to be a country on the margins of international development trajectories ".
"The cargo market is a strategic asset for the whole territory and for the country, it proved during the pandemic when, unlike passenger transport which suffered a strong slowdown, the freight sector was a fundamental factor in the resilience of the system. economic and national production. - declared Armando Brunini, CEO of SEA - Malpensa, as regards the cargo sector, it has already been the main Italian airport for years and will be able to play a strategic role also at European level thanks to the growing demand for e-commerce and dynamism of the Italian entrepreneurial fabric. SEA will do its part to make this development sustainable ”.
"Cargo was the first sector to recover pre-pandemic 2019 levels - said ENAC President Pierluigi Di Palma - thus confirming that it was the segment that was least affected by the entire air transport crisis, because goods have always continued to travel despite the restrictions in place. There have even been significant increases in individual airports that have become, precisely in the pandemic context, major reference points: and we think, of course, precisely in Milan Malpensa. Now it is a question of accompanying new growth and further development, through an integrated and compatible intermodal cargo transport network ”.