A man has died in a shocking and tragic incident at Milan’s Bergamo Airport after reportedly being pulled into a plane engine while the aircraft was preparing for takeoff.
The incident occurred on Wednesday morning and involved a Volotea Airbus A319, which was scheduled to depart for Asturias in northern Spain.
According to reports from Italian news outlet Corriere della Sera, the victim was not an airline passenger or airport employee, but is believed to have been a "trespasser" who somehow accessed the restricted airside area of the airport.
Sources close to the developing situation say the man ran onto the tarmac just as the plane was taxiing. At one point, he then was pulled into one of the aircraft’s engines.
Emergency services were immediately called to the scene, but tragically, the man could not be saved, per LBC.
Authorities have not yet released the man's identity or disclosed how he was able to breach airport security. The circumstances of how he ended up on the active taxiway remain under investigation, and it is not yet clear whether the act was intentional or accidental.
Following the incident, all flight operations at Milan Bergamo Airport were suspended at 10:20AM local time.
In an official statement, SACBO - the airport’s managing authority - confirmed that a "problem on the taxiway" had prompted the suspension of all departures and arrivals.
"SACBO announces that flight operations at Milan Bergamo Airport were suspended from 10:20 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. due to a problem that occurred on the taxiway. The causes of the problem are currently being investigated by the authorities," the statement read, via The Mirror.
Air traffic was resumed just before noon, following a nearly two-hour pause. Despite the relatively short disruption, around 19 flights were canceled or delayed as a result, leaving travelers stranded or rerouted.
Volotea, the airline involved in the incident, has not yet issued a detailed public comment but is said to be cooperating fully with investigators.
The airline's Airbus A319 was reportedly grounded for inspection following the fatal accident.
Security protocols at airports across Europe, particularly in restricted airside areas, are typically stringent. This incident has raised urgent questions about how someone could gain access to such a secure zone undetected, and whether additional safety measures are needed to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
The investigation remains ongoing, and Italian authorities are expected to release more details in the coming days.