Greater management autonomy planned for Italian airports

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Italian civil aviation authority ENAC last month granted extra autonomy from state management to 11 Italian airports, the authority said in a statement.

The airports, which will be upgraded to "total management" status from "partial management" for three years, are Ancona, Bologna, Brescia, Florence, Lamezia Terme, Palermo, Perugia, Pescara, Pisa, Reggio Emilia and Verona.

Airport managers with the right of "partial management" are allowed to run passenger terminal and cargo operations under concession from the state, while the state manages infrastructure including runways.

Airports with the right of "total management" manage all aspects of their operations. ENAC's decision has been passed to the Italian government ministries of Transport and Economy, as well as to the Ministry of Defence, for final approval. The three-year period has been granted while legislation is prepared which will grant total management status to the airports for 40 years, said ENAC.

Italian airport companies already operating under total management status are Bergamo airport, ADR at Rome Fiumicino and Ciampino, SEA at Milan Malpensa and Linate, SAVE at Venice Marco Polo,  SAGAT at Turin and ADG at Genoa airport.

In a separate statement, Florence airport said its new status would allow it to better plan long term developments. Naples airport company GESAC, in which BAA has a stake, without total management status, has previously said that its partial autonomy was hindering growth.