Travel chaos at Milan Bergamo airport after Ryanair plane tyres explode upon landing

Milan Bergamo airport - also known as Orio al Serio and serving the Italian city of Bergamo - endured a day of chaos on Tuesday, following an incident involving a Ryanair flight arriving from Barcelona El Prat.

The plane was landing at 07.55 am local time when the four tyres of the rear undercarriage burst, leaving it stuck on the runway.

The incident however did not affect the landing manoeuvre or cause any particular problems on board, airport authorities said.

However, it damaged the runway, forcing urgent reparation works.

A statement issued later during the day said operations at the airport were expected to resume at 06.00 pm local time.

Milan Bergamo airport: Where are flights diverted to and when will the airport reopen?

The airport's website showed all flights until midnight tonight (Tuesday 1 October) as either delayed, cancelled or diverted. Check your flight's status here.

Some departing flights appeared to be delayed until 2pm local time, implying the airport was hoping to be operational by this time.

If you are due to fly into or out of Bergamo airport, it is best to check your flight's status before heading to the airport.

Where are Bergamo flights being diverted to?

Bergamo is a city and province 1-hour's drive north-east of Milan.

The nearest airports to Bergamo Orio Al Serio are Verona, a 1 hour 10 minute drive away, and Milan Malpensa, a 1-hour drive away.

Airlines are required by law to transport passengers to their final destination but it is not yet clear how they are making sure passengers get to their final destination of Bergamo.

What happened with the Ryanair flight?

SACBO said the Ryanair flight arrived from Barcelona El Prat at 07.55 local time.

Firefighters arrived shortly after and evacuated all 161 passengers and the crew. No one was injured.

"The tyre blowout caused 450 meters of damage to the runway," said SACBO.

The reparation works were aiming to fix the pavement, which was nicked to a depth "of about one centimetre".