In conversation with Armando Brunini, CEO of SEA Milan at World ROUTES 2021 Conference

At the World ROUTES conference in Milan, Editor Holly Miles spoke with Armando Brunini, CEO of SEA Milan Airports. Together they discussed how SEA Milan Airports has fared during the COVID-19 pandemic, the strategies they implemented to minimise revenue losses as much as possible, their main challenges for the next year and the long-term challenges of sustainability and protectionism.

Italy was first region to be hit with COVID-19 so they had a very harsh lockdown with the first wave and again with the second wave, said Brunini. They reached -99.5 per cent of traffic at one point so it has certainly been tough for SEA Milan.

They saw a good “bounce” in the summer 2021 period with vaccinations and health measures and so they have seen passengers coming back to their airports. They are currently running at around -40 per cent of 2019 levels. Brunini said that Italy had just changed bilateral agreements with China the month before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and they were ready to ramp up traffic with China, so they need intercontinental traffic to come back. The savings made during the pandemic need to be made structural according to Brunini and adding health as a third layer to safety and security needs to be done seamlessly.

Sustainability looms in the future as the next big challenge and ultimately, Brunini says that the airport sector is dedicated to “progress, democracy and freedom” and they need to change the narrative around sustainability and work together to change the future.