A hydrogen-powered truck has entered service at Milan Malpensa's Cargo City, the first such deployment reported at the Italian cargo gateway. The arrival marks a shift in ground-handling fuel choice at the airport, which has historically run on diesel-powered vehicles for ramp and apron movements. The truck model, operating entity, and refueling partner were not identified in the published headline; full details are expected from Air Cargo Week's report.

Malpensa, operated by SEA (Società Esercizi Aeroportuali), ranks as Italy's busiest cargo airport by tonnage and sits among the larger European freighter gateways. The airport hosts European hub operations for integrators including DHL, FedEx Express, and UPS, alongside belly-cargo services from long-haul carriers. Any change to a ground-service vehicle therefore registers against a dense operating tempo.

What changes for ground operations?

Airport ground support equipment (GSE) has lagged the wider commercial-vehicle sector on decarbonization. Diesel tugs, belt loaders, and unit-load-device carriers still dominate the apron, because the duty cycle, often continuous across a multi-shift day with prolonged idle periods at stands, favors high-energy-density fuels.

Hydrogen fuel-cell drivetrains can refuel in minutes rather than the hours required by comparable battery-electric units, and they hold range in cold weather. Those are the two points GSE operators cite most often when weighing the two zero-emission technologies. Whether those advantages hold up under real ramp conditions at Malpensa, with intensive pushback cycles and container movement between stands and the Cargo City handling sheds, becomes the operational test.

Why it matters for cargo customers

Cargo handling now sits inside the European Union's emissions-trading framework for ground transport under the revised ETS, although airport service vehicles are not yet directly covered by allowances. Voluntary decarbonization by airport operators has nonetheless entered integrator and airline tender scoring, as corporate shippers weigh Scope 3 reporting requirements.

The Cargo City site, expanded over the last decade with new cold-chain and e-commerce handling facilities, sits as the most visible node at Milan for any low-emission technology demonstration. A successful truck deployment could shape follow-on fleet decisions across SEA's network.

What needs to follow

Hydrogen refueling infrastructure at airports remains sparse across Europe. Stuttgart Airport and Rotterdam The Hague Airport have run earlier ground-fleet pilots; Brussels has explored on-site production from electrolysis. For Malpensa, the supply question, whether fuel arrives by tube trailer, on-site electrolyzer, or local industrial off-take, will shape operating cost more than the truck's purchase price, which still typically runs two to three times that of a diesel equivalent.

Operating economics also depend on hydrogen pricing. Green-hydrogen retail costs in Italy have historically sat well above diesel parity. Whether SEA secures supply at competitive rates or accepts a transitional mix will determine whether the deployment scales past a single demonstrator.

What to watch

The airport's ability to expand from one vehicle to a meaningful ground-fleet cohort hinges on refueling logistics, total cost of ownership, and integration with the existing GSE maintenance footprint. A credible first six months in service would likely draw follow-on orders over the next twelve to eighteen months. A weaker result would push attention back toward battery-electric GSE paired with high-power charging stands at Cargo City stands.