Sunday, June 29, 2025
Italy is facing new travel chaos after a major radar outage on Saturday evening at Milan’s Area Control Centre grounded nearly 350 flights across key northern airports, including Malpensa, Bergamo, Turin, and others. The outage, which struck just before 9:00 PM local time, was caused by a critical data transmission failure that crippled the region’s radar and communication systems managed by Enav, Italy’s national air navigation agency. The sudden halt in operations forced airlines like Ryanair, easyJet, ITA Airways, SAS, TAP Air Portugal, and many international carriers to cancel or delay flights, stranding thousands of passengers across Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria, and the Aosta Valley. Although partial operations resumed by late Saturday night, the disruption exposed deep vulnerabilities in Italy’s aviation control infrastructure and left travelers reeling from ongoing delays, lack of assistance, and overcrowded terminals.
Radar Failure Brings Northern Italy’s Airspace to a Standstill
A major radar and communications failure at the Milan Area Control Centre on Saturday evening triggered widespread flight disruptions across northern Italy, grounding nearly 350 flights and affecting thousands of travelers. The system outage began at 9:00 PM local time, forcing air traffic controllers to halt operations at key airports including Malpensa, Bergamo, Turin, and Genoa.
The disruption was traced to a critical data transmission failure affecting the radar and communication systems managed by Enav, Italy’s National Flight Assistance Agency. The technical breakdown left air traffic controllers unable to manage safe aircraft movements, prompting a complete shutdown of takeoffs and landings across affected airspaces.
Airports Across Four Regions Affected
The outage rippled across multiple Italian regions—Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria, and Aosta Valley—crippling air travel through some of Italy’s busiest transit hubs. At Malpensa International Airport, stranded passengers faced not only flight delays but a breakdown in basic services, with air conditioning systems failing amid peak travel hours.
By the time operations partially resumed at 11:00 PM, the chaos had already taken hold. Several airlines canceled scheduled flights, while others rerouted or held aircraft mid-air awaiting clearance. Terminal screens filled with red notifications as travelers scrambled for updates.
Breakdown of Cancellations and Delays
The disruption affected a total of 366 flights, including both cancellations and delays, across three major airports:
Malpensa International Airport (MXP)
- Delays: 190
- Cancellations: 23
Orio al Serio Airport (Bergamo)
- Delays: 114
- Cancellations: 13
Turin-Caselle Airport
- Delays: 22
- Cancellations: 4
Travelers at all three airports experienced long wait times, gate changes, and limited assistance. Some passengers remained overnight without access to rebooking services, food, or accommodations.
Airlines with the Worst Impact
Airlines operating out of Milan’s regional hubs bore the brunt of the disruption:
- Ryanair: With a dominant presence at Bergamo, it faced 13 cancellations and over 80 delays, amounting to more than 35% of its Saturday schedule.
- easyJet: Reported 48 delays and 6 cancellations, impacting flights across Italy and into other European cities.
- Vueling Airlines: Lost 3 flights and saw 28% of remaining flights delayed.
- TAP Air Portugal: Reported 6 major delays, some exceeding several hours, with ripple effects into Lisbon and Porto routes.
- SAS, ITA Airways, and Air France each experienced multiple affected departures, both short-haul and long-haul.
- Other airlines affected include Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Delta, United, Wizz Air, Neos, Buzz, Turkmenistan Airlines, and Aegean—which left Greek passengers stranded at Malpensa with little support.
Passenger Experience: Discomfort and Disarray
Travelers caught in the chaos described a confusing and uncomfortable experience. At Malpensa, many passengers reported no cooling, no clear instructions, and limited airline personnel available to assist. Travelers onboard Aegean Airlines flight A3665 were among the hardest hit, with no alternate accommodations provided and very little communication from staff.
Those arriving at the airport after the incident began found check-in counters overwhelmed, terminals crowded, and phone apps providing outdated flight statuses. Complaints about lack of customer service were widespread, with social media flooded by frustrated passengers demanding answers.
Authorities Respond and Urge Caution
By midnight, Enav confirmed that services had been partially restored, but residual delays and rebookings extended well into Sunday. Authorities advised travelers to avoid flying into northern Italian airports unless absolutely necessary, and urged passengers to contact airlines directly for the latest rebooking and scheduling information.
In a statement, Official called the radar blackout “one of the most serious technological failures in recent memory,” and emphasized the urgent need to upgrade and reinforce air traffic infrastructure across Italy. Officials also vowed to launch a full investigation into the root cause of the failure and to prevent future outages of this scale.
Total Disruption Summary
- Total Flights Affected: 366 flights
- Delays: 326
- Cancellations: 40
Malpensa International Airport (MXP)
- Total Delays: 190
- Total Cancellations: 23
- Top Affected Airlines:
- Ryanair: 11 cancellations, 27 delays (11% / 27%)
- easyJet: 6 cancellations, 48 delays (3% / 30%)
- Vueling Airlines: 3 cancellations, 4 delays (21% / 28%)
- Neos: 0 cancellations, 18 delays (47%)
- TAP Air Portugal: 0 cancellations, 6 delays (75%)
- Delta Air Lines: 0 cancellations, 3 delays (60%)
- Wizz Air Malta: 0 cancellations, 12 delays (22%)
- Qatar Airways: 0 cancellations, 5 delays (45%)
- British Airways: 0 cancellations, 4 delays (44%)
- Air France: 0 cancellations, 4 delays (50%)
- Air Dolomiti: 0 cancellations, 4 delays (40%)
- Ethiopian Airlines: 0 cancellations, 4 delays (100%)
- Other affected carriers: Emirates, United, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Air China, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and more.
Orio al Serio International Airport (Bergamo – BGY)
- Total Delays: 114
- Total Cancellations: 13
- Top Affected Airlines:
- Ryanair: 13 cancellations, 82 delays (5% / 35%)
- Buzz: 0 cancellations, 7 delays (50%)
- Lauda Europe: 0 cancellations, 5 delays (62%)
- SmartLynx: 0 cancellations, 2 delays (100%)
- Air Arabia Maroc: 0 cancellations, 2 delays (66%)
- Air Cairo: 0 cancellations, 2 delays (100%)
- Air Albania: 0 cancellations, 2 delays (100%)
- Neos: 0 cancellations, 2 delays (66%)
- Wizz Air: 0 cancellations, 2 delays (22%)
- Other impacted airlines: Volotea, Norwegian Air Sweden, FlyDubai, TACV
Turin-Caselle Airport (TRN)
- Total Delays: 22
- Total Cancellations: 4
- Top Affected Airlines:
- Ryanair: 2 cancellations, 9 delays (3% / 16%)
- Vueling Airlines: 1 cancellation (50%)
- HOP!: 1 cancellation (12%)
- Air Dolomiti: 0 cancellations, 4 delays (44%)
- Wizz Air Malta: 0 cancellations, 3 delays (42%)
- ITA Airways: 0 cancellations, 2 delays (25%)
- Other affected carriers: KLM, Air France, Dan Air, Air Nostrum
Italy faced major travel chaos on Saturday evening after a radar outage at Milan’s Area Control Centre grounded nearly 350 flights at Malpensa, Bergamo, Turin, and other airports, disrupting Ryanair, easyJet, ITA Airways, SAS, TAP Air Portugal, and more due to a critical failure in air traffic communication systems.
The Fragility of Air Traffic Infrastructure in Focus
This incident once again exposes the vulnerability of Europe’s tightly packed air corridors to technical breakdowns. A single system failure in Milan brought operations to a halt across multiple airports, disrupting connections, displacing tourists, and delaying business travel.
As summer travel continues to ramp up, authorities now face mounting pressure to invest in digital security, increase system redundancies, and improve coordination between regional and national air traffic centers.
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Tags: Airline News, Bergamo, easyJet, ITA, Italy, Milan. Malpensa, Ryanair, SAS, TAP Air Portugal, travel industry, Travel News, Turin
