Milan Bergamo Airport speaks out after tragedy as man is 'sucked into engine'

The man who died after reportedly getting sucked into an aeroplane's engine was neither a passenger or an employee at the airport, its boss said.

The 35-year-old man, named locally as Andrea Russo, ran onto the tarmac at Milan Bergamo Airport, the third-busiest international airport in Italy on Tuesday. He then got sucked into a plane's engine, it is said, as the aircraft attempted to take off.

Giovanni Sanga, CEO of the group which operates Milan Bergamo Airport, has today expressed his "personal condolences" to the man's family and offered fresh detail about what happened at the hub, a base for Ryanair and other airlines. He said the man, thought to have been a builder, actively "approached the aircraft of a scheduled flight" in the harrowing moments that led to his death.

Flights had been suspended and cancelled but the airport's website now says all operations are scheduled, including flights from Edinburgh and London Stansted, to leave and arrive on time this morning.

Mr Sanga said: "The dramatic event has shocked the entire airport community. 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."

READ MORE: Milan Bergamo Airport: Man 'sucked into plane engine' and killed identified

Mr Sanga added: "From the very beginning, in addition to ensuring the immediate management of the emergency and assistance to passengers and crew, we turned our attention to the colleagues who witnessed the episode and were deeply affected by it.

"At 10:35am on July 8, at Milan Bergamo airport, a person, neither a passenger nor an employee of companies operating at the airport, despite the prompt counteraction of the police forces present, managed to enter the aircraft apron, then reaching the taxiway. Here he approached the aircraft of a scheduled flight, stationary and with its engines running, losing his life.

"The exact dynamics of the incident are being examined by the judicial authorities to whom SACBO (The Bergamo Milan airport authority) continues to provide all the necessary collaboration. The company, in coordination with the relevant bodies, immediately activated emergency procedures and assistance to the flight passengers, crew and ground personnel involved, also making psychological support services available."

When all flights were halted at around 10.20am on Tuesday local time, SACBO said "a problem occurred on the taxiway". Mr Sanga's statement is the first time the group has given more detail about what happened.

The plane, an Airbus A319 of the Volotea airline, was flying to Asturias, Spain. It, and all other departures, were stopped as emergency services descended on the tarmac.

Milan Bergamo Airport in Orio al Serio, northern Italy, catered for more than 15 million passengers in 2023. Some 500,000 of those headed to and from Stansted Airport, typically on Ryanair flights.