From his office overlooking the runway he managed Bergamo airport, which has tripled the number of passengers since his arrival. Today (April 30) Emilio Bellingardiborn in 1959, is on his last day general manager of the Orio airport.
Since your arrival in 2006, what has been the most difficult day?
«Those during Covid: there was a strong fear of not really being able to reopen again. We wanted to keep it open even if at a significant price, because whether you fly one plane or fifty the fixed costs are the same. The government wanted to keep only a couple of airports in Italy in operation and we had a difficult battle with the ministry and with Enac to remain open, which was important for the departures and arrivals of patients and materials. It was a very difficult time emotionally. As well as the resurfacing of the track: we had a date for reopening and until we did, there was anxiety.”
When you arrived 18 years ago what did you find?
«I found an airport with 5 million passengers and with Ryanair which only had two planes here but which asked us to imagine an important future. We had to understand how to do it. Luckily there were a lot of people with the desire to do things.”
How did he move?
«First of all it was necessary to plan growth for the following 15 years, with the preparation of a project to expand the terminal, already having in mind what the airport would become. We went to Enav to explain how we would do it, we made an important pact with Ryanair, designed the resurfacing of the runway, revised the organization and the commercial plan”.
The hardest thing?
«It was to free ourselves from the image of the airport which only hosted flights diverted when there was fog at Linate, and which could never have had its own autonomous personality. I think we succeeded.”
The airport developed one piece at a time, like with Lego.
«It has a conformation squeezed between the mountains and the motorway, so it is narrow and long and requires difficult interventions in terms of construction sites. But I, the collaborators and the shareholders had a far-sighted vision and this allowed us to avoid those interventions that sometimes appear a bit botched. Of course, it takes money and time.”
Have you encountered any obstacles?
«It was difficult to make people understand that it was time not only for the airport, but also for the area and the city, to open up more, to internationalize and make known the beauties of Bergamo which were a little hidden. Thanks also to the airport, the city is now known throughout the world.”
82% of your traffic depends on Ryanair: is this an element of fragility?
«It was also said about Malpensa with Alitalia. But I don’t think that even in the deepest corner of Ryanair’s mind there is the idea of leaving the airport where it absolutely finds the ability to respond to all its needs and in such a rich territory”.
Among the difficult moments there was not only Covid.
«The 2008 crisis saw the decline of part of the province’s industrial and construction vocation. It would have been difficult to maintain high visibility for Bergamo if there had not been this important development in the area’s accessibility to tourism and services.”
Does this give you power?
«If you intend to bully others, no. Indeed, I believe that we have always put the primary interests of the company before those of those who live around us.”
But the hardships are still heavy for them.
«I understand them and have great respect for them. Airports create wealth over a very large territory and Orio has an importance that goes beyond the province and the region but also Italy. While the repercussions are on a smaller area. We were the first to carry out interventions on insulation, on air conditioning, we have one of the largest networks of noise measurement units in Italy. Compared to a few years ago there is a little less noise, and new technologies will help a lot. To eliminate night flights we sold DHL’s most important base in Italy, losing several millions and causing problems for companies working on import-export.”
How long will the airport grow? Is there a structural limit?
«It’s difficult to give a number, in 2006 no one would have ever imagined today’s numbers. I believe it can grow, but by all working together so that we can reach a goal that makes the impact of transport compatible and almost neutral. But we need to make the country understand the importance of airport accessibility: there is excessive taxation on everything. Luckily I see positive signs.”
But do you like the name «Il Caravaggio»?
«I wasn’t convinced but I’ve always had a passion for Caravaggio and this helped me fight the battle, because there were others who were about to use this name. But then no one calls the airports by name.”
