The new policy framework reshapes Italy’s airport system, placing intermodality and the revival of secondary airports at the centre of its strategy. The plan includes €1.2 billion for rail connections and assigns a more prominent role to peripheral regions.
Transport and tourism are becoming increasingly interconnected, and Italy’s National Airport Plan 2026–2035 is further strengthening that relationship. The policy document substantially revises the structure of the previous plan and sets out a clear direction: to consolidate the development of regional and secondary airports by integrating them into a broader and more extensive mobility network.
At the heart of the strategy is the concept of intermodality: the ability to connect air travel efficiently with other forms of transport, particularly rail. The Plan provides for investments of approximately €1.2 billion in rail links to and from the airports of Bergamo, Olbia, Verona and Venice.
The objective is to transform airports from simple points of arrival into fully integrated hubs within Italy’s national transport system.
The Revival of Overlooked Airports
The most symbolic example of this new phase is Reggio Calabria’s Tito Minniti Airport, where a new passenger terminal was recently inaugurated. For decades, the airport remained on the margins of the national aviation network and faced the tangible risk of permanent closure. Today, it is increasingly regarded as a driver of development for Calabria, a region that ranks among Italy’s leading destinations in terms of the number of seaside locations awarded Blue Flag status. Reggio Calabria is not an isolated case. ENAC’s 2025 traffic data had already highlighted double-digit growth at airports such as Reggio Calabria, Rimini, Pescara and Trieste, in line with the Regional Air Mobility strategy promoted by the Italian Civil Aviation Authority. The underlying objective is to create a network connecting large and small airports, distributing passenger flows more evenly across the country.
Why It Matters to the Tourism Industry
For businesses operating in inbound tourism and destination development, the revitalisation of regional airports carries significant strategic importance. Every secondary airport that strengthens its connectivity becomes a potential gateway to destinations that have historically been difficult to reach, creating new opportunities to develop tourism products in less visited areas. Accessibility is, after all, one of the decisive factors influencing destination choice. A region that is well connected by both air and rail enjoys a clear competitive advantage over one that remains isolated. The combination of newly operational airports, upgraded passenger terminals and dedicated rail services is therefore reshaping the map of opportunities available to tourism operators, destination management organisations and local authorities.
A Tool for Reducing Seasonality
A further issue runs throughout the strategy: the distribution of visitor flows. The concentration of air traffic during the summer months remains one of the unresolved challenges facing Italian tourism. Strengthening regional airports and improving their accessibility would provide destinations with practical tools to attract visitors outside the peak season, while easing pressure on the country’s best-known destinations and promoting Italy’s wider network of cultural, natural and rural assets. The National Airport Plan 2026–2035 is therefore not simply a technical document concerning airport infrastructure. It forms part of a broader vision in which transport and tourism are moving in the same direction: making every part of Italy easier to reach, rather than concentrating accessibility exclusively around the country’s major hubs. For the tourism industry, it will be essential to monitor the practical implementation of these investments over the coming years, as this is where the difference between policy ambitions and measurable results will ultimately become clear.