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How Orio al Serio airport has helped put Bergamo on the map for visitors to Italy

Bergamo's airport at Orio al Serio is the fourth busiest in Italy and there is no doubt that its rapid expansion has helped raise the profile of the city.
Developed on the site of a military airfield, the airport welcomed its first commercial flight in 1972 but it was not until the deregulation of the aviation industry in the late 1990s that it began to grow at a significant rate.
{{Information |Description=Airport of Bergamo |Source=seöf-made |Date=24.03.2008 |Author=Paul Lenz |Permission= |other_versions= }}
Ryanair is the principal carrier at Bergamo Airport
(Picture by Paul Lenz)


See our updated Flights Guide

With the boom in regional and low-cost airlines that followed deregulation,  Orio al Serio began to see passenger numbers increasing by significant numbers year on year.  Around a million travellers used the airport in 2000; by 2014 the figure was 8.77 million, more than passed through Marco Polo airport in Venice.
At first seen as a third airport for Milan -- hence it is often referred to as Milan Bergamo -- the airport has helped boost Bergamo's standing as an attraction in its own right, not least because its proximity to the city allows travellers to take in some wonderful views as they land, the Città Alta's beguiling charms often visible from the aircraft windows.
Recently renamed Il Caravaggio International Airport - in honour of the artist who took his name from the town in Bergamo Province where he grew up -- the airport is situated just 3.7 kilometres (2.3 miles) to the south-east of the city.  
Taxis to the city are in plentiful supply and there are buses every 20 minutes from outside the arrivals area, every half an hour at weekends
Bus tickets cost only a couple of euros and the journey time is short -- only 15 minutes to the railway station in Bergamo's Città Bassa, 30 minutes to the Città Alta.  Look out for the No 1 service, which runs along Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII and Viale Roma - the Città Bassa's main thoroughfare -- before climbing to the Città Alta along Viale Vittorio Emanuele II.  Most of the Città Bassa's major hotels are within a short walk of the bus route.

See our updated Flights Guide

Currently you can fly to Caravaggio from more than 30 countries around Europe and North Africa. Ryanair has developed Bergamo as one of its major hubs and the majority of flights to the airport are operated by the Irish budget carrier.
Visitors to Bergamo from the United Kingdom can fly with Ryanair from Bristol, East Midlands, London Stansted and Manchester.  Flights from London Stansted account for around 375,000 passengers arriving in Bergamo each year. 
Ryanair has also become a major carrier within Italy, operating flights to Caravaggio from 10 departure points
In addition to the UK, countries with direct flights to Bergamo are: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine. 

More details can be found in our Flights Guide which has been updated to show the spring and summer schedules.


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