Andy Nativi/GENOA
ADR, operator of Rome's two major airports, has confirmed that it plans to establish a jointly-owned company with its Milanese counterpart SEA with the aim of buying other Italian airports. New chief executive (CEO) Paolo Pappalardo adds that ADR aims to forge a truce with Alitalia, with which relations have been strained in recent years.
ADR's 51.2% shareholder, the Leonardo group (composed of Falck, Gemina, Impregilo and Italpetroli) appointed Pappalardo as part of a wider management overhaul, with Paolo Savona named as president and Franco Sensi as vice-president. The new team has a three-year term.
Pappalardo, who worked at Alitalia in the 1970s, replaces former CEO Gaetano Galia, while Galia is being touted as a candidate to replace Domenico Cempella as CEO of the struggling Italian flag-carrier. Pappalardo has in turn replaced several top managers, including director general Giulio Spano, and has selected Federico Nucci, from Alitalia, as the operations director.
The venture with SEA will see the formation of a joint company to acquire stakes in other airports, and to bid for service contractors. Pappalardo says the "war" with Alitalia, fought so fiercely by Galia, is going to end. "I don't understand why the relationship with Alitalia is so bad," he says. Alitalia is still ADR's main customer, although it is establishing its main hub at Milan Malpensa.
Source: Flight International
