On March 16, 2024, Sea, the entity overseeing both Malpensa and Linate airports, released its traffic and financial data for 2023. The figures revealed a 7% drop in cargo compared to the previous year, albeit with a 21% increase from 2019 levels. Malpensa continues to lead Italian cargo cities, claiming a 65% share of the national air freight market. 2023 also marked Sea's departure from the shareholder composition of Malpensa Logistica Europa, where it held a 25% stake. The airport handling company is now entirely in the hands of Bcube.
Sea elaborated on the significant overall impact of Malpensa's cargo city, generating approximately €47.5 billion in economic value for Northern Italy's production system, equivalent to just under 285,000 job positions. More specifically, "the import-export flows valued at €57.7 billion, an increase of €2.5 billion from the previous year, accounted for about 4.6% of Italian foreign trade, which stood at €1.241 trillion in 2023."
The airport company further noted that "11.6% of the total value of national exports outside the EU passed through Malpensa's cargo city. For the furniture/design, fashion/clothing, and mechanics sectors, Malpensa's share of total Italian exports were 16.8%, 15.3%, and 7.5%, respectively. It's noteworthy that the goods that passed through Malpensa in 2023 represented nearly half and over a third of the total value of all Italian fashion/clothing exports to the affluent and dynamic markets of the Far East and North America, respectively, and over a third of the furniture/design sector's exports and a quarter of the mechanical sector's exports to East Asia."
The initial months of 2024 present a "generally positive" outlook. Compared to 2023, Sea anticipates an increase in cargo flows, especially in belly cargo and freight, while noting a contraction in the express segment. Cargo traffic continues to be influenced by the Red Sea crisis: if it persists, "it could increase the reliance on air transport between Eastern markets and Europe, with additional benefits for the cargo sector managed at Malpensa." Strikes in Italy and abroad within the aviation sector in 2024 could negatively impact airport traffic. Sea also highlighted energy market trends and inflation rates as factors of uncertainty.
