Bergamo’s airport passes 50-year milestone

First commercial flight took off in 1972

In 1972, the airport's facilities consisted of a small
single-storey building - a far cry from today

Bergamo’s international airport this week celebrated 50 years since the first commercial flight left the runway at Orio al Serio.

The flight, operated by the former Itavia airline using one of their McDonnell Douglas DC-9 aircraft, took off at 9.15am on 21 March bound for Rome, due to land around one hour later. There were just 18 passengers on board. 

The anniversary was marked by a presentation at the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo’s Città Bassa, at which Giovanni Sanga - the president of SACBO, the company that runs the airport - explained how traffic through the airport has expanded so rapidly in the last 20 years that Orio al Serio - known nowadays as Il Caravaggio - is now the third busiest airport in Italy.

Built on the site of what had been a World War Two military airfield, Il Caravaggio handled more than 13.8 million passengers in 2019 - the last full year before the Covid-19 pandemic - which meant only Rome Leonardo da Vinci and Milan Malpensa were busier. In 2000, the numbers of passengers through the airport was only one million

Ryanair is by far Bergamo's biggest airline today,
serving more than 100 destinations

Including seasonal charter flights, more than 20 airlines link Bergamo with around 135 destinations. By far the biggest carrier using Il Caravaggio is the Irish airline Ryanair, which flies to more than 100 destinations. The airport - usually referred to in timetables as Milan Bergamo - is Ryanair’s third largest hub after London Stansted and Dublin.

Less than four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the city, Il Caravaggio is easily accessible with the Bergamo's railway station only 15 minutes away by the Linea 1 service run by ATB (Azienda Trasporti Bergamo). From the station, the service travels along the main thoroughfare through the Città Bassa, stopping within a short walk of most of the major hotels, to Città Alta, to which the journey takes about half an hour.

There are plans to open a railway station at the airport in 2024.

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Ryanair announces new Bergamo routes for 2017

Ryanair plans 44 new routes to boost its Italian operation

Ryanair, the Irish budget carrier which is now established as Italy's biggest airline, will operate new services to Bergamo in summer 2017 as part of a substantial expansion of its Italian operation.

Edinburgh will join Belfast, Bristol, East Midlands, London Stansted and Manchester among the UK's departure points for direct flights Orio al Serio, which is listed in timetables as Milan Bergamo.

There will also be a new flight from Vigo in Spain and from Luxembourg.  Ostrava in Czechoslovakia and the Serbian city of Niš were added to the timetable in 2016.

The new routes follow the announcement of a $1 billion investment by Ryanair in 10 new aircraft to cover a total of 44 new services, which will create 2,250 new jobs and result in an extra three million passengers per year arriving at Italian airports.

Ryanair had previously planned cutbacks to its Italian operation, including the closure of its Pescara hub, in response to increases in taxes being proposed by the Italian government but these increases have now been reversed.

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How Orio al Serio airport has helped put Bergamo on the map for visitors to Italy

Bergamo's airport at Orio al Serio is the fourth busiest in Italy and there is no doubt that its rapid expansion has helped raise the profile of the city.
Developed on the site of a military airfield, the airport welcomed its first commercial flight in 1972 but it was not until the deregulation of the aviation industry in the late 1990s that it began to grow at a significant rate.

Ryanair is the principal carrier at Bergamo Airport
(Picture by Paul Lenz)

See our updated Flights Guide

With the boom in regional and low-cost airlines that followed deregulation,  Orio al Serio began to see passenger numbers increasing by significant numbers year on year.  Around a million travellers used the airport in 2000; by 2014 the figure was 8.77 million, more than passed through Marco Polo airport in Venice.
At first seen as a third airport for Milan -- hence it is often referred to as Milan Bergamo -- the airport has helped boost Bergamo's standing as an attraction in its own right, not least because its proximity to the city allows travellers to take in some wonderful views as they land, the Città Alta's beguiling charms often visible from the aircraft windows.
Recently renamed Il Caravaggio International Airport - in honour of the artist who took his name from the town in Bergamo Province where he grew up -- the airport is situated just 3.7 kilometres (2.3 miles) to the south-east of the city.  
Taxis to the city are in plentiful supply and there are buses every 20 minutes from outside the arrivals area, every half an hour at weekends
Bus tickets cost only a couple of euros and the journey time is short -- only 15 minutes to the railway station in Bergamo's Città Bassa, 30 minutes to the Città Alta.  Look out for the No 1 service, which runs along Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII and Viale Roma - the Città Bassa's main thoroughfare -- before climbing to the Città Alta along Viale Vittorio Emanuele II.  Most of the Città Bassa's major hotels are within a short walk of the bus route.

See our updated Flights Guide

Currently you can fly to Caravaggio from more than 30 countries around Europe and North Africa. Ryanair has developed Bergamo as one of its major hubs and the majority of flights to the airport are operated by the Irish budget carrier.
Visitors to Bergamo from the United Kingdom can fly with Ryanair from Bristol, East Midlands, London Stansted and Manchester.  Flights from London Stansted account for around 375,000 passengers arriving in Bergamo each year. 
Ryanair has also become a major carrier within Italy, operating flights to Caravaggio from 10 departure points
In addition to the UK, countries with direct flights to Bergamo are: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine. 

More details can be found in our Flights Guide which has been updated to show the spring and summer schedules.

See Best of Bergamo’s updated Flights Guide

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New flights guide for Bergamo's easy-to-reach Caravaggio Airport

One reason for Bergamo's popularity with visitors to Italy is its close proximity to a major international airport.

Caravaggio is a Ryanair hub

Bergamo’s Caravaggio airport is situated in the suburb of Orio al Serio, which is just 3.7 kilometres (2.3 miles) to the south-east of the city.  It is so close to the city that visitors can sometimes enjoy a first glimpse of the Città Alta's beguiling charms even before they land.

Taxis to the city are in plentiful supply and there are buses every 20 minutes from outside the arrivals area, every half an hour at weekends

Bus tickets cost only a couple of euros and the journey time is short -- only 15 minutes to the railway station in Bergamo's Città Bassa, 30 minutes to the Città Alta.  Look out for the No 1 service, which runs along Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII and Viale Roma - the Città Bassa's main thoroughfare -- before climbing to the Città Alta along Viale Vittorio Emanuele II.  Most of the Città Bassa's major hotels are within a short walk of the bus route.

Caravaggio is the fourth busiest airport in Italy, just behind Milan Linate and ahead of Marco Polo airport in Venice. Almost nine million passengers used the airport in 2012. 

Currently you you can fly to Caravaggio -- usually listed in airline schedules as Milan Bergamo -- from 37 countries around Europe and North Africa. Ryanair has developed Bergamo as one of its major hubs and the majority of flights to the airport are operated by the Irish budget carrier.

Visitors to Bergamo from the United Kingdom can fly with Ryanair from Bristol, East Midlands, Leeds-Bradford, London Stansted and Manchester.  Flights from London Stansted accounted for 372,397 passengers arriving in Bergamo in 2012.

Ryanair has also become a major carrier within Italy, operating flights to Caravaggio from 10 departure points

In addition to the UK, countries with direct flights to Bergamo are: Albania, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine. 

More details can be found in our flights guide, which has been updated to show the autumn schedules.

See Best of Bergamo’s updated Flights Guide

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Bergamo airport to close for runway work

Flights to Bergamo between next Tuesday (May 13) and Sunday June 1 will be subject to re-routing because of resurfacing work on the runway at the Caravaggio Airport, otherwise known as Orio al Serio.

Bergamo airport

No services in or out will operate between 00.01am on Tuesday and 06.00 on Monday June 2.  This will impact especially on Ryanair's extensive schedules and travellers should check with the airline should they have a flight booked during this period.

Ryanair's website advises that all their flights to and from Bergamo between these dates will instead arrive and depart from Milan's Malpensa Airport, which is located 91km west of Orio al Serio.  Those flying with other airlines should consult their websites or contact their customer service departments.

Work is continuing on an expansion of the arrivals and departure areas at Caravaggio, which is the fourth busiest airport in Italy, after Rome Fiumicino and the two Milan airports, Malpensa and Linate.

Flights Guide

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