19.03.25

THE FIRST STONE HAS BEEN LAID FOR THE MILAN BERGAMO AIRPORT SERVICE CENTRE

Today, Wednesday 19 March, saw the ceremony to mark the laying of the first stone for the new Airport Service Centre, the work site for which has been set up in the area of SACBO property adjacent to the P3 car park and part of the municipality of Bergamo. 

Giovanni Sanga, the president of SACBO, was joined by Elena Carnevali, the mayor of Bergamo, Pasquale Gandolfi, the president of the Province of Bergamo, Claudia Maria Terzi, the executive councillor for Infrastructure, Transport and Sustainable Mobility for the Lombardy Region, Alessandro Colletta, Manuel Bentoglio and Gabriele Cortesi, the mayors of Orio al Serio, Grassobbio and Seriate, Roberta Carli, the director of the Italian Civil Aviation Authority for Bergamo, and representatives of airport organisations. 

The Airport Service Centre will cover an area of 3,600 m2. The 6-storey building, which will have an overall area of 10,000 m2, will be home to a series of offices related to airport activities, as well as conference rooms and a 180-room accommodation structure, the management of which SACBO has assigned to HNH Hospitality under the brand name “Hilton Garden Inn Bergamo Airport”. 

The works, carried out by the Magenta-based Gencantieri S.p.A. on the basis of a project by the Studio Milan Ingegneria firm (Milan) will have an approximate overall cost for SACBO (*) of 30 million, and completion is due for 2026. 

“These works are in response to the various demands of travellers, bolstering the series of dedicated services and offering a range of convenient and quality logistics solutions” - stated Giovanni Sanga, president of SACBO - “The new structure will be available right before the inauguration of the direct rail link to our airport, contributing to creating a new dimension of mobility and hospitality, and marking a further improvement in quality in this area”. 

The high point of the ceremony saw the president of SACBO, Giovanni Sanga, place a scroll in the foundations, which carries the following message: “The act of construction is like planting a seed to be cultivated. A building requires the attention of a gardener, and the project that will be constructed here will see the utmost attention to every detail, to serve travellers and visitors alike”. 

(*) “Funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU as part of the NRPP - “Italian Recovery and Resilience” Fund of Funds – M1C3, intervention 4.2.3 for which the Italian State is the sole contributor, and assigned for management to the European Investment Bank”. 

09.02.25

HARE CAPTURE OPERATION AT ORIO AL SERIO AIRPORT PREMISES

On the morning of Sunday, February 9, 2025, a hare capture operation was carried out in the grassy area of the airport premises in Orio al Serio, with the support of personnel from the Ambito Territoriale Caccia (ATC) of the Pianura Bergamasca, led by Mario Fogazzola and based in Caravaggio, along with volunteer game wardens from the Province of Bergamo.

The operation, conducted two years after the previous one, was requested and organized by SACBO in compliance with European EASA regulations on wildlife hazard prevention, aimed at removing wild animals from areas affected by aircraft movements.

As in previous similar operations, all necessary precautions were taken to ensure the protection and welfare of the captured hares. Each specimen was tagged by a veterinarian before being relocated to repopulation areas in the Bergamo lowlands.

At 7:30 AM, 48 operators set up specialized nets in strategic locations, using controlled sounds and disturbances to gently guide the hares in the desired direction for careful capture. The operation concluded at 12:00 PM, successfully capturing 11 hares, contributing to the ongoing effort to manage their presence within the airport premises.

Throughout the operation, airport activities continued as normal, with no disruptions or restrictions to air traffic.

23.01.25

THE ITALY-MONGOLIA AGREEMENT PAVES THE WAY FOR A DIRECT FLIGHT BETWEEN MILAN BERGAMO AIRPORT AND ULAN BATOR

Direct flights between Italy and Mongolia are now possible thanks to the bilateral agreement between the two countries, signed in Rome at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the minister Antonio Tajani and the Mongolian undersecretary for transportation, Sandagdorj Batbold.

The news of the signing of the document was warmly received by the president of SACBO, Giovanni Sanga, who met with a delegation of government and business representatives from Mongolia on an introductory visit to Bergamo last November, during which they visited the airport and explored the interterritorial economic and industrial fabric of the surrounding area.

“On behalf of SACBO”, stated Giovanni Sanga, “I would like to thank the minister Tajani, the members of parliament from Bergamo Alessandro Sorte and Stefano Benigni, and all those involved in setting up this significant transportation agreement. The interest shown in Milan Bergamo Airport as a logistics destination favouring the development of passenger traffic and commercial exchanges with Mongolia can now be expressed through the opening of a route connecting Ulan Bator. We are ready and willing to examine the relative terms and methods with the national airline Miat Mongolian Airlines. The direct flight between Bergamo and the capital of Mongolia will play a strategic role for the entire north of Italy, and for the multifaceted industrial and business world that revolves around it, and will undoubtedly bolster and accelerate the development of imports and exports between the two countries”.

The developments resulting from the agreement between Italy and Mongolia will set the scene for further expansion of the network of routes offered by Milan Bergamo Airport, which grants access to hundreds of destinations in Asia and Africa via direct flights connecting the hubs of Dubai, Sharja and Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen.

16.01.25

SACBO HAS BEEN ASSIGNED THE ANMIC AWARD FOR IN-AIRPORT ASSISTANCE FOR PASSENGERS WITH REDUCED MOBILITY

The Bergamo branch of ANMIC, the national association for the wounded and disabled, has assigned an award to SACBO for support services provided to passengers with reduced mobility travelling through Milan Bergamo Airport. The president of ANMIC Bergamo, Giovanni Manzoni, presented the award to the president of SACBO, Giovanni Sanga, during the annual meeting with sector associations representing disabled people held at the executive offices of SACBO.

“The association hereby expresses its profound appreciation of SACBO for the attention, regard and

constant collaboration demonstrated in ensuring quality services for disabled people at Milan Bergamo Airport: a commitment that sees Bergamo Airport as an example on an international level”, reads the motivation for the ANMIC award.

“We are honoured to have received this award”, said Giovanni Sanga, the president of SACBO.

“We constantly dedicate the utmost attention to disabled people, as well as those suffering from temporary invalidity, who require in-airport assistance. We thus guarantee everyone’s right to travel and to access all available services, facilitating operations both on departure and arrival. Deserved praise goes to the entire SACBO workforce for having achieved widely recognised standards of quality; standards that we are committed to improving ever further”.

“ANMIC and SACBO have been successfully collaborating for decades, resulting in services for reduced mobility passengers of the highest quality”, stated Giovanni Manzoni, president of ANMIC Bergamo. “We have worked together towards progressively eliminating all architectural barriers to sensory and motor accessibility, as well as to facilitating certain categories, such as families with young children. SACBO merits praise for having created the “Sala Amica”, an area of the highest standards, with a full range of comforts, qualified and helpful personnel, and a reserved area for people with autism. We have observed, over the years, the utmost willingness of the airport personnel and management under all circumstances. However, people with the right to support unfortunately do not always follow regulations, failing to make the necessary reservations for assistance. Despite this, the airport operator continues to fulfil its duties with professionalism, skill and devotion”.

The meeting involving ANMIC and associations for disabled people saw the presentation of data regarding assistance provided at Milan Bergamo Airport. In 2024, assistance was provided 88,480 times, 50% more than in 2019 and in 2022. Last year, passengers with reduced mobility (PRM) accounted for 0.74% of overall passengers (17.3 million), the highest ever. Assistance was provided to 82 passengers every one hundred flights. However, 23 percent of these did not request support. In light of this, SACBO, ANMIC and other representatives of disabled people have launched a programme to raise awareness over respect for the rules, an element that is not only essential but also required by regulations for the purpose of guaranteeing assistance that is precise and suited to the requirements of each individual PRM.

24.12.24

MILAN BERGAMO AIRPORT REACHES A NEW MILESTONE WITH 17 MILLION PASSENGERS

Today, Monday 23 December, Milan Bergamo Airport celebrated its 17-millionth passenger of the year. A milestone that reflects the trend in traffic seen throughout 2024 as a result of an increase in the average load factor on flights and the extensive network, which offered 154 destinations in 42 countries during the summer period. The number of passengers that will have passed through Milan Bergamo Airport by the end of the year will see the conclusion of a period of recovery in air traffic that began following the 2020-2021 period characterised by the pandemic and that developed significantly as early as 2022, to then continue in 2023 with almost 16 million passengers.

These figures also reflect growth in terms of quality and satisfaction, which has been confirmed both by recognition from ACI World as the best airport in the 5-to-15-million passenger category (in 2021 and 2022) and by the assigning of level 1 certification for customer management in 2024. This has been accompanied by particular care and professionalism in the provision of support to PRMs (Persons with Reduced Mobility), with the number of passengers in this category growing from 72,000 in 2023 to 87,000 in 2024 (+21%).

The increase in passenger traffic has come in line with the implementation of works financed entirely by SACBO as part of the 2023-2027 industrial plan, which has provided for investments worth 203 million. A significant portion of the work planned is dedicated to the process of sustainability, which represents a fundamental goal for underscoring the role of the airport. “We are proud of having achieved and, at this point, passed the annual threshold of 17 million passengers – stated Giovanni Sanga, the president of SACBO – A result that has been achieved thanks to broad synergies and wide-ranging vision, reflecting our capacity to adapt infrastructure and services to a constantly evolving operational scenario. This result has been made possible by significant professionalism at all levels, from the staff of the airport management company to the state organisations and the various operators concerned, ensuring recognition of the utmost quality and efficiency of services in 2024.

Quality and safety will be further bolstered with the expansion of the passenger terminal, with new check-in and security control areas. At the same time, SACBO continues to pursue its goal of sustainable development, carrying out mitigation works to benefit residents living in the vicinity of the airport. In addition, activities continue in the field of epidemiological studies promoted by the Local Health Authority in collaboration with the Bicocca University, which will pass to stage three in 2025 with the involvement of residents in the areas surrounding the airport. Furthermore, in line with the process of decarbonisation defined by SACBO, 2025 will see the expansion of the fleet of electric passenger- and aircraft-service vehicles, and the implementation of a photovoltaic plant situated in the remote parking area, which is capable of providing for more than 10% of the annual energy demands of the airport. An ecological contribution in addition to the 55% from renewable sources provided by the national grid”.