International

Milan airport to be renamed Silvio Berlusconi airport

Milan's main airport will be renamed after former Italian prime minister and business tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday, Reuters reports.

Berlusconi, who died last year aged 86, led four governments at the head of his centre-right party "Forza Italia" and was one of the most controversial figures in modern Italian history.

Speaking at a conference in southern Italy, Salvini said the civil aviation authority had approved a request from the Lombardy region around Milan to rename Mapensa airport in honor of Berlusconi, who hails from the country's financial capital.

"Since the final decision is in the hands of the Minister of Transport, I really think it will be implemented," said Salvini, a longtime Berlusconi ally.

"In memory of my friend Silvio, a great businessman, a great Milanese citizen and a great Italian," wrote Salvini later on the social platform X under a photo of Berlusconi and Maplensa Airport.

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