Over 50% traffic growth at Sea Prime airports
*SEA Prime sees 57% growth in airport traffic in the first quarter of 2022
*Milano Prime reports a 81% growth in tonnage in the first quarter of 2022
*Construction begins on 4,700sqm hangar at Milano Linate Prime
SEA Prime, a company of the SEA Group which, with the Milano Prime brand, is a leading business aviation airport manager in Italy and in Europe, is attending EBACE 2022, a premier world event for the business aviation community, which is taking place in Geneva from May 23 to May 25, gathering over 280 exhibitors.
SEA Prime’s management, following the positive results of 2021 – +74% of traffic over 2020 for both airports managed by SEA Prime – has presented during a press meeting the main lines of developments according to three strategic guidelines: Results, Opportunities and Innovation (ROI). Tom Engelhard, CEO at Sirio SpA, has also attended the event to illustrate the new industrial development project to be implemented at the new maintenance hangar at Milano Linate Prime.
In the first months of 2022, the growth trend continued in both traffic (+57%) and tonnage (+81%) managed at Milano Prime as compared to the same period of 2021, and by +113% compared to 2020 in terms of movements. The growth was driven by international traffic (+69% compared to 2021), with an incidence of about 70% of total, reversing a trend that had seen the share of domestic traffic increase during the pandemic. Key events in Milan, Europe’s most fashion-forward destination, such as the Design Week to be held in June, the Monza Grand Prix and September Fashion Week, as well as the full reopening of Milan and Northern Italy to international tourism, are the main traffic drivers in 2022.
One of the key opportunities for SEA Prime is the infrastructural development with the commencement of the construction of a 4,700 sqm a hangar at Linate. “The new hangar – designed for Sirio, our long-standing customer and part of the Directional Aviation Group since 2018, enhances and consolidates the Bombardier Authorized Service Facility, a key milestone in the expansion of Milano Prime’s services”, said Chiara Dorigotti, CEO of SEA Prime. Additional hangars dedicated to business jets at Milano Linate Prime are foreseen in Linate’s master plan.
“We are delighted that, 20 years after Sirio SpA leased the first hangar at Milano Prime Linate, we can now look forward to the next chapter with this new state-of-the-art hangar! Following a 15% increase of Maintenance manhours in 2021, our new hangar will allow our Maintenance Organization to expand its capabilities and continue its growth” said Tom Engelhard, CEO of Sirio SpA, said.
Innovation focuses on sustainable development, through tangible actions both on infrastructures – with BREEAM sustainability certification for the new hangars – also equipped with PV systems, on the development of sustainable aviation fuel and the use of electric ramp vehicles.
Looking ahead, Milano Linate Prime could host one of the very first vertiports developed by SEA Group as part of the Advanced Urban Air Mobility project also in view of Milano Cortina 2026 winter Olympics.
