Milan Bergamo Airport resumes operations after man fatally sucked into plane engine

On 8 July 2025, a man lost his life after he was pulled into the engine of a plane while preparing for departure. After the accident, all air traffic from the airport was suspended. According to an unnamed airport official cited by local Italian media, the victim ran onto the tarmac during take-off preparations.

The man, who was neither a passenger nor an airport employee, reportedly took his own life at the airport. According to sources like Corriere della Sera and Ansa, the man abandoned his car, entered the terminal, and then accessed the runway through a security door. He then ran towards a Volotea plane that was preparing for take-off.

At 10:20 am SACBO, the authority managing the airport, announced the airport’s closure “due to problem that occurred on the taxiway.” Flights resumed at noon on 8 July after the situation was addressed.

As a result of the closure, there were delays and cancellations in airline operations. Ryanair’s flights to Crotone, Prague, Zadar, and Malta as well as Eurowings flight to Dusseldorf were among the affected. Flights were also diverted. For example, a Ryanair flight originating from Trapani, Sicily, circled briefly before being rerouted to Malpensa Airport, which is located northwest of Milan.

A tragic incident occurred at #Milan Bergamo Airport, #Italy, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, involving a #Volotea Airbus A319 aircraft on flight #V73511 to Asturias, #Spain. A man was sucked into the left engine, resulting in his death.

🎥 ©️ @Jean_Robert_29 | Bergamonews#Bergamo pic.twitter.com/1SysZqnVhh

— FlightMode (@FlightModeblog) July 9, 2025

The airplane initially thought to be involved in the incident was a Volotea Airbus A319, scheduled to fly to Asturias, northern Spain. However, according to Flightradar24, there was a different aircraft that operated the flight, which took off later that day.

Volotea said in an X post that “all 154 passengers and 6 crew are safe.” The Spanish low-cost carrier expressed its condolences to the family of the deceased, stating that “psychological support was provided to the passengers and crew, who have now landed on a rescheduled flight to OVD.”

We have fully cooperated with authorities and express our gratitude to our crew and passengers for their cooperation. The safety and well-being of all is our top priority. We extend our condolences again to those affected.

— Volotea (@volotea) July 8, 2025

Italian authorities have begun an investigation into the accident. The goal is to discover how the person reached the runway from outside the airport. “We have fully cooperated with authorities and express our gratitude to our crew and passengers for their cooperation. The safety and well-being of all is our top priority. We extend our condolences again to those affected,” wrote Volotea.

SACBO issued a press release expressing condolences. “First of all, I would like to express my personal condolences and those of the company to the victim’s family, to whom we are close in this terrible moment,” stated SACBO’s President, Giovanni Sanga, in the statement. SACBO also emphasised its ongoing cooperation with the authorities to support the investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy.