INTRODUCTION
Hello everyone
Usually I'm quite a big planner when it comes to organize trips
I like booking planes and hotels in advance, making itineraries and take my time to match everything
But that's not the case
The 16th June a friend of mine called me and told me he had organize a short weekend in Paris with a friend. By the way this guy was having unplanned work impediments
Since my friend didn't want to leave alone he invited me to join him
Departure date: 20th June, just 4 days after
Having no plan already and willing to make a crazy thing I immediately agree
In the following days we manage to change the name on the booking (the guy "charged" me 60 euros only)
We also changed the name on our hotel booking and got the tickets for Aerobus to the city center
The hotel, located in Le Bourget, costed me 70 euros
The bus costs 33 euros return
Leaving from BGY at 19:50 on Friday would have mean leaving my workplace in San Pellegrino between 16:30 and 17:00
At that time roads between San Pellegrino and Bergamo Airport can be kinda busy
Taking the flight back from Paris at 8:15 on Sunday impose getting the 5 AM bus to Beauvais, which may take more than one hour
The day before leaving I realized we'd have been in Paris with many big events in place: Paris Air Show (which I really wanted to attend, but I couldn't left my friend alone), Beyonce concert (happening at Stade de France in St-Denis, 5 km from our hotel) and Fête de la Musique
ROUTING
Ryanair - Bergamo BGY > Paris BVA - Boeing 737-800
Ryanair - Paris BVA > Bergamo BGY - Boeing 737 MAX 8
Some stats:
12nd out of 13 flights of 2025 (as of late June 2025)
First time flying into BVA
First time flying on BGY-BVA route
THE FLIGHT
24 hours before the flight Ryanair allowed us to check-in
Luckily I got 6F while my friend got 20B
SInce my friend was not passing from San Pellegrino on his way to BGY and he had a tighter work scheduled we agreed to meet straight at the airport
A collegue of mine was very kind bringing me to the airport
We left the building site around 16:30 and 45 minutes later he left me at Bergamo "Il Caravaggio" International Airport
The airport is dedicated to 16th Century painter Michelangelo Merisi, known as "Caravaggio", a town located 22 km south of Bergamo
He was supposed to be born in the aforementioned town, however it was later discovered he born in Milan
The airport was less busy than expected
Since my friend was getting a bit late he told me to access security and wait for him airside
Security was a breeze, it took me 5 minutes
A new larger area is expected to open by the end of 2025. It will be equipped with additional, longer and more advanced screening lanes
BGY airside presents a long daedalus among shops before reaching the gate area
The departure lounge was not full, many seats were available
Time for some spotting
Ryanair Boeing 737 MAX 8 boarding
Ryanair Boeing 737-800
Aeroitalia Boeing 737 taking off with Bergamo "Città Alta" (the upper town) in the background
Avionord (a private air operator) Learjet 45
Air Arabia A321neo taking off to Sharjah-SHJ
I found quite interesting that a destination like Dubai can be reached by a low-fare airport as BGY
Trade Air (a Croatian charter airline) A320 just landed from Kos-KGS
It departed to Porto Santo-PXO later that evening
My friend joined me around 18:30, fifty minutes before scheduled boarding time
Our plane landed perfectly on time at 18:45 from Heraklion-HER
Moments after 19 the gate was opened, allowing priority passengers first
A short bus ride brought us to our today's ride:
Ryanair Boeing 737-800 EI-GSI
First flight on 14th September 2018 (6.7 years at the moment of the flight), it was delivered to Ryanair later that month
It's equipped with 189 seats in full-Y configuration
Instant wing and door
The cabin was featuring SkyInteriors
I greeted my friend on his way to the back of the plane and took my seat
At 19:45, five minutes before scheduled take-off, doors were closed
The plane was less than 80% full
Pushback happened 5 minutes later
Actually a goodbye, but thank you as well
Lights were lowered for departure
Taxi was a bit long since the terminal apron is located at the opposite end of the runway
Lining-up on runway 28 ten minutes after leaving the stand
Precisely at 20, ten minutes later than scheduled, we started our take-off run
In the air
Bergamo lower town ("Città Bassa") in the foreground and upper torn ("Città Bassa") in the background
Enter text here…
"The Triangle" housing complex, built in a restored spinning mill
Curno shopping center
Crossing the Brembo River (the river passing in San Pellegrino) south of Ponte San Pietro
Calusco d'Adda with the cement quarry right behind
As we pointed North-Westward we jumped over the clouds
Entering Swiss airspace while flying around Lugano Lake area
Lugano Airport (LUG-LSZA)
Flying over Swiss Alps
Jungfrau complex (4.158 meters asl) and Aletsch Glacier, the largest in Europe (120 sqkm)
Gros-de-Vaud area. north of Lake Geneva
Lake Neuchâtel
Entering French Airspace north of Dijion
The ground was scattered by hundreds of wind turbines
Somewhere between Troyes and Reims
One hour into the flight the cabin was made ready for landing
We began our descent above Hauts-de-France region
The plane pointed north of Paris and BVA Airport to land from north-west
Lined up to land on runway 12
Road D901, which borders the southern side of the airport
Las moments on air, passing over the airport access road
At 21:18, seven minutes before scheduled, we roughly touched down at Paris Beauvais-Tille Airport
Backtracking runway 12-30 to vacate
Runway 04-22 is used as taxiway
Blocking exactly 5 minutes after touching down
In a very short while the airport was prepared for disembark
Only two other Ryanair birds were sitting on the apron
Disembark happened by walk, being our stand right in front of Terminal 2 baggage hall
As I entered the terminal I was hit by the smell of human waste coming from the bathroom
The warehouse-style terminal looked really shabby
The exterior looked much better than the interior
Since my friend wanted to recharge his phone (BGY has no power plugs around the departure lounge) we spent around 20 minutes in the terminal building
We caught the 22 bus to St-Denis, the best option to reach our hotel in Le Bourget
Even if was Friday and the city was teeming for the AirShow and the Fete de la Musique no big traffic was around
The bus left us at St-Denis moments after 23, as planned
Stay tuned for the return…
FLIGHT RADAR
