The Anama (Fedespedi) report shows a growing sector also in the first nine months of 2025. The European picture is also comforting
The Italian airport sector consolidated its post-pandemic recovery in 2024, with double-digit growth in both passenger and cargo traffic. The data emerges from the new report on airport management companies promoted by ANAMA – National Association of Air Cargo Agents and produced by the Fedespedi Study Center, which analyzes the 2024 financial statements of 14 Italian managers and four major European airports (Amsterdam, London, Frankfurt and Paris).
The full study is available on the Fedespedi website.
Air transport in Italy: passengers and cargo
In 2024, Italian airports handled 219.1 million passengers (of which 72.1 million on domestic routes and 145.8 million on international connections), with an increase of 11% compared to 2023. Growth continued also in the first nine months of 2025, with passengers from January to September exceeding 177.3 million, an increase of 4.7% compared to the same period in 2024. 2024 was also a particularly positive year for air cargo: total handling reached 1.249 million tonnes, an increase of 15% compared to 2023. In the first nine months of 2025, the trend remains moderately positive, with growth of 0.8% compared to the same period in 2024. Cargo activity is highly concentrated: the top 10 airports handle over 98% of the total, and the Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino airports alone together account for approximately 81.5% of the volumes.
The international and European picture
In 2024, global air transport passengers reached 9.5 billion, an increase of 9% compared to 2023 and more than double the 2019 volumes. Global air cargo exceeded 63 million tonnes, with growth of over 7% and a full return to pre-pandemic levels. In the European Union, 1.55 billion passengers were handled in 2024 (+8.1% on 2023), in addition to the 292 million from the United Kingdom. Italy is the second European country for passenger traffic, with over 218 million travelers in 2024 (+8.6% on 2023) and a further increase of 8% in the first quarter of 2025. On the cargo front, the EU-27 handled 14.6 million tonnes in 2024 (+8.1% compared to 2023), with Italy in sixth place by volume, at 1.17 million tonnes. In terms of overall air connectivity, Italy ranks 4th in Europe, after the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain and ahead of countries that are important, also from a tourism perspective, such as France and Greece. Among individual airports, Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa rank 8th and 16th respectively in the European ranking of total connectivity, followed by Venice, Naples, Linate and Bergamo, all however among the top 50 European airports.
Economic-financial analysis of airport management companies
The Fedespedi Study Center report analyzes the economic-financial performance of the 14 main Italian airport management companies – which manage the country’s major airports – and the managers of Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Frankfurt and Paris Charles de Gaulle airports, based on the consolidated 2024 financial statements.
Overall, in 2024, Italian companies generated revenues of 3.144 billion euros, of which 2.116 billion are attributable to aviation activities (infrastructure management, ground assistance, handling, etc.) and 1.028 billion to non-aviation activities (retail, catering, commercial and real estate services in airports). The total profit exceeds 678 million euros and direct employment is close to 11,000 units. The profitability indicators (ROS, ROI, ROE) overall show a good economic-financial balance of the Italian managers, with performance levels fully comparable with those of the main European players. The asset and financial structure also highlights a largely balanced use of leverage and liquidity ratios generally adequate to support the investment plans on the airport premises.
ANAMA – National Association of Air Cargo Agents, was founded in Milan on July 26, 1957 as the air section of Fedespedi, with the aim of representing at a national level the freight forwarding companies active in the air sector. Today the Association represents 80% of the companies in the sector.
