From ‘bunga bunga’ to boarding passes: Berlusconi lands a Milan airport

Scandals, scandals, then an airport: Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who died in 2023, gets the Milan terminal named in his honour in September 2026. — AFP pic

First Published: Saturday, 26 Sep 2026 5:04 PM MYT

MILAN, Sept 26 — Milan’s main international airport was officially renamed on Friday after former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who died in 2023.

The airport is now called Aeroporto Milano-Malpensa Silvio Berlusconi, after the new name was approved in 2024 but faced legal challenges, German news agency dpa reported.

“Knowing that Milan-Malpensa Silvio Berlusconi Airport will welcome thousands of travellers from all over the world every day fills me with pride and emotion,” said Maria Elvira “Marina” Berlusconi, the late politician’s eldest daughter.

The airport is the second largest in Italy after Rome-Fiumicino.

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala stayed away from the renaming ceremony in protest, having previously opposed naming the airport after Berlusconi, who was born in the city.

“What was I supposed to do? Turn up with a forced smile?” he commented on Instagram.

Berlusconi was a deeply controversial figure both in Italy and abroad.

He served four terms as prime minister between 1994 and 2011, spending more than nine years in office — longer than any other Italian prime minister since the end of World War II.

His political career was marked by numerous legal fights, including a 2013 conviction for tax fraud and a trial over the so-called “bunga bunga” affair involving parties attended by some underage girls.

He was ultimately acquitted in that case.

Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party is now part of the three-party right-wing coalition led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, which has governed Italy since 2022. — Bernama-dpa