Cabin Disinfection at Milano Bergamo Orio al Serio (LIME)

Why cabin disinfection at Milano Bergamo Orio al Serio?

Bergamo sits 3.7 kilometres from the city centre and about 45 kilometres north-east of Milan, making it a practical alternate or primary gateway for charter, medical repatriation and corporate shuttle work. The airport handled 88,831 movements and 14.4 million passengers in 2025, the vast majority low-cost commercial traffic, so your cabin has often been exposed to multiple sectors, shared terminals and high passenger throughput before you arrive. Disinfection resets the environment: we eliminate surface bioburden, treat the air path and neutralise residual odours from catering, smoke or industrial cargo.

The service takes one to two hours stand-side, scheduled around your handler's slot and your next departure. You receive a certificate of treatment for the tech log, which satisfies charter-broker due diligence and reassures principal passengers after medical, long-haul or high-utilisation legs. Recurring disinfection—weekly or after every charter block—keeps the cabin consistently clean and reduces the need for deeper decontamination down the line.

What changes at Milano Bergamo Orio al Serio?

The airport sits at 782 feet elevation with two runways: the main 10/28 at 2,874 metres and a shorter 12/30 at 778 metres used primarily for light aircraft and training. CAT IIIB ILS and 24/7 operations mean night-time or early-morning disinfection windows are operationally possible, though handler staffing varies. Signature Bergamo operates 06:00 to 22:00 local with call-out on request; BGY International Services, the SACBO subsidiary, runs H24; AGS Handling is also listed for general aviation. All three require a PPR form submitted to SACBO before arrival, so disinfection must be pre-booked and tied to that permission.

Ramp space is shared with one of Europe's highest-density low-cost operations. Your stand may be close to GPU and potable-water hookups, but it will also be hemmed by commercial traffic, belt loaders and cargo tugs. We bring our own lighting, power and disinfectant stock, so we do not depend on FBO infrastructure. The Lombardy climate—hot, humid summers and cold, damp winters—accelerates microbial growth on soft furnishings and in the air-conditioning plenum, which is why operators flying regular Milan shuttles often schedule disinfection every seven to ten days rather than waiting for odour complaints.

How do you disinfect high-touch surfaces without damaging cabin materials?

We use quaternary-ammonium or hydrogen-peroxide formulations approved for aircraft interiors, applied by microfibre wipe or electrostatic sprayer depending on the surface. Leather seats, veneer tables and anodised switch bezels each tolerate different chemistries and dwell times; we match the disinfectant to the OEM material specification. Armrests, latches, galley handles and lavatory fixtures are wiped by hand so we can inspect for wear, cracks or corrosion that might harbour contamination. Air vents and gaspers are treated with a no-residue spray that evaporates without leaving streaks on the surrounding panel.

Soft furnishings—cushions, curtains, carpets—are misted lightly if odour is present but not soaked; over-wetting drives moisture into the foam and creates a mould risk when the aircraft climbs to altitude and the cabin cools. If smoke or biological odour persists after surface cleaning, we place an ozone generator or activated-charcoal canister in the sealed cabin for 30 to 60 minutes, then ventilate on GPU before your crew boards. Every step is logged in the certificate of treatment, which lists the product batch, contact time and surfaces covered.

What does a typical disinfection visit look like on the Bergamo ramp?

Your handler—Signature, BGY International or AGS—escorts us airside once your aircraft is on stand and the APU or GPU is live. We board with a rolling cart of disinfectants, microfibre cloths, electrostatic sprayer, UV torch for inspection and a tablet for the digital checklist. The cabin is divided into zones: cockpit (if requested), forward galley and seating, mid-cabin, aft lavatory and galley, baggage-compartment door handles. Each zone is wiped or sprayed in sequence, high to low, so we do not recontaminate treated surfaces.

Air vents and gaspers are treated next, followed by odour neutralisation if needed. The entire process takes 60 to 90 minutes for a super-midsize, up to two hours for an ACJ with multiple lavatories and a full galley. We photograph the certificate of treatment on the cockpit table before we leave, and the handler signs us off the ramp. If you are turning around for a departure slot, we coordinate with the catering truck and fuel bowser so disinfection does not delay push-back; if the aircraft is staying overnight, we schedule the visit for late evening when handler traffic is lighter and we have uninterrupted access.

Can you treat the air-conditioning system and eliminate persistent odours?

We disinfect the visible air path—vents, gaspers, return grilles—but we do not disassemble ducting or open the environmental-control-system bay; that requires a maintenance release. If odour is coming from the plenum, we fog the cabin with a fine-mist disinfectant while the air-conditioning packs are running on GPU, so the vapour is drawn through the recirculation path and contacts the evaporator coils and filters. The treatment takes 20 minutes of run time plus 10 minutes of ventilation, and it eliminates most biological and catering smells.

Smoke odour, especially from cigars or industrial cargo, is harder. We seal the cabin, place an ozone generator inside for 30 to 60 minutes, then ventilate thoroughly before the next flight. Ozone oxidises odour molecules but also degrades rubber seals and some plastics if overused, so we limit the concentration and log every session. If the smell persists after two treatments, the source is usually trapped in the carpet underlay or the seat foam, and a deeper decontamination with extractor and enzyme cleaner is needed. We discuss that option on site and provide a quote before we start additional work.

How do you handle recurring disinfection for charter operators at Bergamo?

Charter and fractional operators flying Milan shuttles, ski transfers to the Alps or Mediterranean legs often schedule disinfection every seven to ten days, or after every charter block if the aircraft is flying multiple sectors with different passenger groups. We set up a standing PPR with your handler so each visit is pre-cleared by SACBO, and we send a technician to the same stand at the same time each week. The handler knows the routine, the airside pass is on file, and the work is logged in your fleet-management system as a recurring line item.

Recurring work costs less per visit than one-off call-outs because we batch travel and materials, and we catch problems early—worn armrest stitching, cracked galley latches, mould starting in a lavatory seal—before they need expensive remediation. You receive a monthly summary certificate listing every disinfection date, the surfaces treated and any observations, which satisfies charter-broker audits and insurance due diligence. If you add or remove an aircraft from the Bergamo rotation, we adjust the schedule with two days' notice; if a flight diverts or cancels, we roll the appointment to the next available slot without a rebooking fee.