Italy's Bergamo Airport suspends flights temporarily after a man gets sucked into plane's engine

Italy’s Bergamo Airport, a hub for low-cost flights serving the Milan area, was briefly shut down on Tuesday after a man was killed on the runway while a flight was preparing for takeoff.

The man was sucked to death by the engine of a departing Volotea flight. Corriere Della Sera cited airport sources who claimed that the individual, believed to be around 35 years old, “entered the wrong way near the terminal, abandoned his car and started running towards the inside.

“Once he had entered the arrivals area - which is on the ground floor - he is said to have opened a security door that leads directly to the aircraft parking areas.”


Local media said the plane involved was an Airbus A319 bound for Asturias airport, manoeuvring out of the parking area.

Flight operations were suspended from 1020 to 12 local time (0820-1000 GMT) "due to a problem that occurred on the taxiway", the airport said in a statement, adding that the incident was being investigated by authorities. Flight tracking service Flightradar24 details that a total of 19 flights have been nixed due to the mishap.

A spokesperson confirmed that a man had died, adding that he was neither a passenger nor a member of airport staff. The Italian press office for the Spanish low cost carrier was not immediately available for comment.

Bergamo airport is the third-busiest international airport in Italy, which served almost 17.4 million passengers in 2024. It is also one of Ryanair's three largest operating bases, along with Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport.