A critical technical failure at one of Italy’s key regional airports plunged travel plans into chaos over the weekend. Thousands of passengers were left stranded overnight at Bergamo Orio al Serio Airport after a malfunction in the landing guidance system, compounded by poor visibility, forced a complete halt to all flight operations on Saturday evening.
Technical Failure Halts All Operations
The disruption began on the evening of Saturday, January 3rd, 2026. The Italian airport of Bergamo Orio al Serio, a major Ryanair hub for flights to Milan, was forced to suspend all operations due to a simultaneous technical issue with its Instrument Landing System (ILS) and adverse weather conditions reducing visibility. According to local reports, the first flights were halted at around 1700 GMT. SACBO, the company that operates the airport, addressed the situation in a public statement, confirming the cause of the shutdown.
A Long Night for Stranded Travelers
With flights grounded, the immediate consequence was travel chaos within the terminal. Thousands of passengers, many of whom were traveling with low-cost carriers, found themselves with no option but to spend the night at the airport. Images circulated online showing people sleeping on the floor and even on baggage check-in belts as they waited for news. The Corriere della Sera daily’s Bergamo edition reported on the scale of the overnight disruption, detailing the improvised arrangements made by the stranded crowd.
Gradual Resumption Amid Ongoing Delays
SACBO announced that the core technical problem with the guidance system was resolved around midnight. However, the knock-on effects of the hours-long shutdown were severe and continued into Sunday. The airport’s website posted a warning stating that “flights may be delayed or cancelled” as the schedule began to slowly recover. Local media reported that the incident led to the cancellation of 26 departing flights, with 6 others diverted to alternative airports and a further 7 rescheduled entirely for Sunday.
Recovery Efforts Continue
By Sunday morning, operations were gradually restarting, though significant delays persisted across the board. Real-time information on the airport’s website showed a long list of affected flights, predominantly from Ryanair. For example, a Ryanair flight to Cagliari originally scheduled for 0605 GMT was delayed until 0850 GMT before finally departing. Similarly, a Neos flight to Sharm el-Sheikh, initially set for 0620 GMT, took off at 0855 GMT. While the technical fault was fixed, the backlog of passengers and aircraft meant that normal operations took most of Sunday to fully resume, marking a slow end to a disruptive weekend for air travel in Northern Italy.
