Aviation takes off from Milan

Milan hosted World Routes 2021, one of the largest events in the world for the development of air routes and the first held in person in this industry since the pandemic. AIM Group has collaborated from the city bid submission to the realisation.

Milan hosted World Routes 2021 which gathers airlines, airports and tourism organizations from all over the world, making it one of the largest events in the world for the development of air routes. The event was hosted at the MiCo Convention Center in Milan and was one of the first in person events for the aviation industry where delegates could meet again, since the beginning of the pandemic.

Postponed from 2020, it was finally held from 10 to 12 October 2021 in Milan and was a huge success. Overall results exceeded expectations, it brought together 1,500 participants with over 5,500 one-to-one meetings being held.

AIM Group has been involved at every stage of the project providing consultancy and project management from the conception of the event in 2018 when Milan was submitting its bid as the host city.

Hosted by Sea Aeroporti Milano, in collaboration with local stakeholders: the Lombardy Region, the Municipality of Milan, ENIT – the Italian Tourist Board and the Bergamo airport, World Routes has turned the spotlight on long-term growth opportunities for the airport, the city and the entire region.

The focus of the three-day event was on the actions to be taken to accelerate the recovery in aviation, with a series of conferences and notable speakers including: Jozsef Varadi, CEO of Wizz Air; Jason McGuinness, Ryanair’s Commercial Director; Garth Lund, CCO of Flair; Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico; Vijay Daryanani, Minister of Affairs, Tourism, Transport and the Port of Gibraltar; Luis Felipe de Oliveira, General Manager of Aci World; and Fabio Lazzerini, CEO of Ita.

To fine-tune the development strategies, over 125 airlines attended the event in Milan, including Air Canada, Air China, Air France, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, EasyJet, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Iberia Airlines, International Airlines Group, Jet2.com, JetBlue, Klm Royal Dutch Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Wizz Air.

AIM Group also managed the social program which included the Welcome Reception in Piazza Città di Lombardia, the spectacular Networking Evening in the beautiful courtyard of the Castello Sforzesco and some complimentary tours to discover the city. Together with ENIT we also hosted a group of journalists to discover the Lombardy Region.

From the Region, the response from sponsors was beyond expectations. The local sponsors from the region of Lombardy were represented at the destination host stand, where they were able to present a variety of local offers.

“We are proud to have collaborated to create such a significant in-person event. We were delighted to experience how the whole air transport and route development community was happy to meet again and plan their future development strategies together. We offered multiple opportunities for guests to experience various and unique experiences, leaving a special and lasting memory of Milan and the Region” explains Cinzia Paglia, Project Manager AIM Group International.

Milan passed the baton to Las Vegas for the 2022 edition.