Policy-makers, academics and practitioners are increasingly interested in the systematic assessment of the performance of national airport systems. In its recent National Airport Plan, Italian Government proposes a new strategy for the development of the entire sector in the next few years to strengthen its efficiency and attractiveness. The paper employs Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to statistically measure efficiency performance of major Italian airports and conducting comparative analysis. The analysis shows that the efficiency performance of Italian airports is not apparently correlated with their operational size and financial results. Further improvements of their economic and financial performance does not necessarily depend on increasing their operational efficiency, but lay on the ability to steer individual strategies within a comprehensive framework.
