Milan Bergamo Airport
Bergamo Airport is more commonly known as Milan Orio al Serio Airport, and is found right in the center of the most important Italian provinces in terms of production and commerce. The three provinces are Milan, Bergamo and Brescia, and Orio al Serio Airport is situated only 5 km from Bergamo and 45 km from Milan. The airport is surrounded by a population of approximately five million people, and provides an entry point to one of the most interesting tourist areas in North Italy.
Orio al Serio Airport consists of a single terminal building that is a total area of 11,100 square meters, and handles intercontinental, international and national departure and arrival flights. The total area of the airport covers 300 hectares. It has two runways which are capable of handling 22 movements per hour. Runway 10/28 is 3,024 meters long and 45 meters wide, and runway 12/30 is 778 meters long and 18 meters wide. The airport is enabled for cat. IIIB operations. Orio al Serio Airport is classified as a civil and private airport, with the IATA code of BGY, and the official ICAO code of LIME. The airport is open 24 hours a day.
The first airfield in Bergamo was opened in Osio Sotto, in 1911, but Bergamo Airport was established in 1939, and was then used exclusively for military aims. The first commercial flight at the airport was on the 21st of March 1972, after civil activity was finally added to the military usage of Orio al Serio Airport. Although a few years of difficulty followed, the airport survived, and finally experienced an increase in its activities and success towards the late Nineties. This was largely due to the opening of the new and large Malpensa Airport as well. Orio al Serio Airport was then targeted for intensive work to improve its facilities to accommodate the passengers of the airport and the increasing traffic of the airport. In 2001, the airport was awarded with the passenger sector Quality Certificate from the TUV organization. This award sprung the interest of many low cost airlines, which lead to an even greater increase in passenger traffic.
In 2003, Orio al Serio Airport had a record breaking passenger count of 2,844,379, causing it to rise to seventh place among Italian airports in terms of units of traffic. The airport’s success did not end there, and by the end of 2004 there was a count of 3,337,000 passengers. 2005 even managed to achieve greater numbers, and increased the numbers from the previous year by 30.5%, with 4,356,000 passengers. This exceptional growth was mainly due to an increase in scheduled flight passengers. More recently, in 2009, Orio al Serio Airport received an annual passenger figure of 7,160,008, and is now the fourth busiest airport in Italy. It is part of Milan’s airport system, which consists of Linate Airport and Malpensa Airport as well.
There are many different airline companies which operate from Bergamo Airport, including Belle Air, with flights to Pristina and Tirana, Amsterdam Airlines, with flights to Amsterdam, Wind Jet flying to Catania, Air Arabia Maroc, with flights to Casablanca, Alitalia flying to Rome-Fiumicino, and SmartWings with flights to Prague. Ryanair conducts the majority of flights from Bergamo Airport, and some of their destinations include Alghero, Bremen, Bristol, Dublin, Eindhoven, London-Stansted, Glasgow-Prestwick, Rhodes, Liverpool, Rome-Ciampino, Palermo and Valencia.
Orio al Serio Airport is also busy in terms of cargo. In 2006 the annual figure for cargo tons transported reached a high of 140,630. This number decreased in the next few years, with only 134,449 tons transported in 2007 and 122,398 tons transported in 2008. However, the airport is still regarded as important in terms of cargo movement, and there are a number of cargo airlines which operate from the airport. These airlines include DHL Aviation, MiniLiner, and United Parcel Service operated by Star Air. Some of the destinations for cargo include Bologna, Brussels, Budapest, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Pisa, Tel Aviv, Vitoria and Athens.
Bergamo Airport has received some extensive upgrades to its facilities in the middle 2000’s. A new control tower was completed in 2006, with a height of 37 meters and a radar room of 110 square meters. Between 2005 and 2007 there were also improvements made to modernize the technological facilities, radio assistance and weather monitoring capabilities of the airport’s equipment.
The terminal building of the airport has numerous useful passenger amenities, including a very comfortable and tranquil VIP lounge. This is the Orio al Serio VIP Lounge. In the lounge passengers can enjoy a refreshment service with various drinks and snacks, television, TV text and TV Sky link. There are also electricity sockets for PC usage. Companies can purchase a special VIP card which is valid for a year, and entitles any member of that company to access the airport’s VIP lounge.
Further details in connection with Bergamo (Orio al Serio) Airport can be obtained from the general information desks within the airport terminal.