Italy’s civil-aviation authority ENAC convened emergency talks on 20 October with the presidents of Assaeroporti and Aeroporti 2030 to draw up a joint roadmap aimed at boosting capacity, digitalisation and passenger experience across the national airport network. The meeting was chaired by ENAC’s acting commissioner Carlo Mearelli at the Palazzo dell’Aviazione Civile in Rome. Topics included accelerating the roll-out of biometric boarding, harmonising slot-allocation criteria with EU sustainability targets, and ring-fencing a share of the forthcoming €1.4 billion Infrastructure Fund for regional hubs such as Bari and Cagliari. Airport CEOs pressed the regulator to streamline authorisations for landside real-estate projects, arguing that non-aeronautical revenues are essential to finance security upgrades without raising passenger fees. For global-mobility managers the initiative could translate into shorter connection times and higher service standards over the medium term. ENAC confirmed that five additional airports will be cleared to remove the 100 ml liquids rule by summer 2027, following successful trials at Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate. A public consultation on the new Passenger Rights Charter, including compensation for automated-bag-drop failures, will open in November. Multinational firms relocating staff to Italy should watch for potential construction-phase disruption: expansion works at Naples and Florence are slated to start in Q2 2027 once fast-track permits are issued. ENAC and Assaeroporti pledged to publish a quarterly progress dashboard so companies can adjust travel policies accordingly.
Source: ENAC Newsroom
