Between Turin and Milan, a century of derby: why under the Mole the 'no' always wins

A proposed merger between Turin's Caselle Airport and Milan's Malpensa Airport faces a familiar hurdle: Turin's deep-seated resistance to collaboration with its larger neighbor. This pattern of "no, thank you" has defined the relationship between the two northern Italian cities for a century, extending across various sectors from fashion and cinema to banking and corporate headquarters.

The current airport merger proposal echoes past rejections. In 2007, an integration of the Turin and Milan public transport companies, Atm and Gtt, never materialized. More recently, the idea of co-hosting the Turin Book Fair with Milan in 2016 nearly sparked a diplomatic crisis, with Turin fearing a "theft" of the event. Even the 2006 merger of Sanpaolo Imi with Banca Intesa, while successful, caused unease in Turin about losing its central role.

Despite potential economic advantages, such as increased bargaining power with airlines and enhanced industrial integration as noted by aviation analysts like Andrea Giuricin, Turin's perspective remains dominated by a fear of being overshadowed. The narrative of Milan "tricking" Turin with "low blows" persists, fueling opposition to joint ventures. Malpensa's significantly larger scale compared to Caselle fuels concerns about Milan dictating future strategies in any merged entity.

This historical rivalry, symbolized by the initial toast to the Turin-Milan highway in 1932, has evolved into a persistent "no" to integration. Even though Turin no longer holds any shares in its airport, the sentiment of rejection continues. The proposed airport merger, like many before it, is likely to be met with the same ingrained skepticism, prioritizing perceived autonomy over potential synergistic gains.

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Malpensa will remain an international hub, Linate the home of business transport, and Caselle for Ryanair and WizzAir. Together they will have more contractual strength with the airlines.