02.10.24

SACBO PARTICIPATES IN EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK

Milan Bergamo Airport and SACBO, respectively the first airport and first airport management company in Europe to have received “BIKE FRIENDLY” certification, assigned in 2021, took part on BIKE TO WORK DAY on Friday 20 September, an annual event that promotes the use of bicycles for commuting between home and work and forms part of the programme of initiatives for European Mobility Week. It was an opportunity to encourage employees to pedal to work and illustrate the advantages offered by the bike room set up in the public area of the airport and open for the day to allow everyone to understand the utility of this space, which is available for passengers and bicycle enthusiasts.

Within this context, SACBO played host to two classes from the school “Istituto Caniana” of Bergamo, studying “Design for visual communication and advertising” as part of the particular focus on younger generations and with a view to raising awareness among the students on the strategic importance of a culture of sustainability.

The event began with greetings from the President of SACBO, Giovanni Sanga, and continued with an illustration of the sustainability model developed by the airport management company and based on the concept of “multimodality”, understood as a combination of means of transport for ground-based travel to and from the airport, including the use of bicycles and the network of cycle and cycle-pedestrian routes. The event also saw the participation of Francesco Baroncini, a Board Member of the European Cyclists’ Federation, who spoke via video from Brussels to stress the importance of the initiatives implemented by SACBO and Milan Bergamo Airport, as well as of raising awareness among younger generations on using bicycles as a daily means of transportation, a concept repeated by professor Gabriele Torri, a researcher from the University of Bergamo and member of the managerial team of Pedalopolis, part of FIAB, and by Nicola Eynard, an architect and tourist guide.

02.10.24

SACBO CONTRIBUTES EUR 200,000 TO THE MUNICIPALITY OF BERGA-MO SOLIDARITY FUND FOR THE 9 SEPTEMBER FLOOD

Supporting people in the belief that acts of solidarity help those in need to recover from situations of difficulty. It is with this spirit, a reflection of social responsibility towards local communities, that SACBO has committed to contributing EUR 200,000 in support of the solidarity fund set up by the municipality of Bergamo to cover expenses for basic necessities faced by citizens and businesses in the city of Bergamo affected by the flood of 9 September 2024. 

This is SACBO’s response to the appeal from the mayor Elena Carnevali, expressing awareness of the necessity to address the needs of the community. 

“SACBO is joining the widespread efforts of the municipality of Bergamo which, with the creation of the solidarity fund, has organised a form of practical support for those who have suffered the devastating effects of adverse weather”, stated Giovanni Sanga, president of SACBO. “The donation made is an expression of our desire to take part in efforts to provide practical and immediate support to those whose work, businesses and daily lives have been affected. We are living in an era in which it is impossible to ignore the consequences of climate change, which are forcing us to adopt habits that are ever more compatible with the environment and embrace all that technological innovation has to offer for the benefit of sustainability. This is a theme that SACBO has adopted as a goal for the present and for future development”. 

02.10.24

SACBO HOSTS THE WORKSHOP ON ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AND NEW REGULATIONS TO IMPROVE SAFETY IN AIRPORT OPERATIONAL AREAS

Milan Bergamo Airport is the first airport in Italy to adopt a simulator for driving wheel-based service vehicles in operational areas, and the second in Europe after Brussels international airport. It is a move that reflects the airport management company’s focus on safety aspects within the airport context, allowing for the promotion of a workshop held in the auditorium of the SACBO executive offices dedicated to the theme of “ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AND NEW REGULATIONS TO IMPROVE SAFETY IN AIRPORT OPERATIONAL AREAS”, which involved collaboration between Milan Bergamo Airport, the TXT Group (the company that developed the driving simulator software) and the IFSC (Italian Flight Safety Committee), with the participation of representatives of the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) and the European Union Aviation Safety Authority (EASA), which are responsible for regulating airport ground handling services. 

The workshop focused on improvements in safety for activities in the areas of aircraft handling and operations, a process related to new developments in regulations regarding ground handling services, sharing the functions and benefits of the airport management company’s use of the wheeled vehicle driving simulator (Airside Driving Simulator), which contributes to increasing airport safety and represents a technological and procedural evolution in this field. 

The activities, which began with speeches from Amelia Corti, the Managing Director of SACBO, and Roberta Carli, the Bergamo Area Director of ENAC - the Italian Civil Aviation Authority -, and were coordinated by Lorenzo Mezzadri, the president of the IFSC, saw the contribution of Adina Szonyi from EASA and Giuseppe Ignoti from the Italian Civil Aviation Authority on the theme of new regulations. 

01.10.24

RUNWAY OPERATIONS MILAN BERGAMO AIRPORT

At 7:55 AM (local time) on Tuesday, October 1st, Ryanair flight FR 846 from Barcelona El Prat, carrying 161 passengers, experienced the bursting of all four rear landing gear tires during the landing phase. The damage did not compromise the landing maneuver and did not cause any issues on board, nor were there any consequences for the passengers. After the immediate intervention of the Orio al Serio Fire Department and securing of the aircraft, which remained stationary on the runway, the passengers were safely disembarked and escorted to the terminal.

Due to the aircraft remaining on the runway, operations were suspended, and a NOTAM was issued stating that the runway would not reopen before 5:00 PM (local time). Departing flights were delayed, and arriving flights were either diverted or canceled.

The tire burst caused damage to the runway over a length of 450 meters. The damage affected the surface of the pavement, which was scratched to a depth of about one centimeter. Therefore, it was necessary to plan the pavement restoration through urgent work entrusted to a specialized company in order to restore the runway to full operational capacity.

The reopening of the runway is contingent on the removal of the aircraft and the completion of the pavement restoration work.

01.10.24

SACBO PRESS RELEASE ON THE REOPENING OF THE RUNWAY AT MILAN BERGAMO AIRPORT

SACBO has announced that the runway at Milan Bergamo Airport reopened at 7.30 p.m. local time. Operations returned to normal with the landing of the Norwegian flight from Helsinki. The runway had been closed since 8.00 a.m. due to a 450-m section of runway being put out of action due to the bursting of the four tyres on the rear undercarriage of Ryanair flight FR 846 during landing from Barcelona El Prat. None of the 161 passengers or the crew were harmed. 

The works to repair the runway surface commenced following removal of the aircraft stranded on the runway, thanks to the intervention of specialised technicians under the supervision of SACBO personnel and the Fire Brigade. The process required the milling of the damaged surface, followed by asphalting and the restoration of runway markings, after which the runway was tested before flight operations were allowed to recommence. 

“Works that would have normally taken much longer were carried out in just over six hours”, stressed Giovanni Sanga, president of SACBO. “Excellent teamwork, which began with the immediate intervention of the Fire Brigade and the contribution of SACBO technical and operational staff, as well as the specialised companies appointed. We would like to express our compassion and our gratitude to the waiting passengers, many of whom were forced to abandon their travel plans, for their understanding. We would particularly like to commend the support provided by the airport handling staff. Our gratitude also goes to the law enforcement agencies present in the airport, and to all the workers involved in airport services”.