Bologna, September 9, 2026 – “The flight is delayed due to a measure by Matteo Lepore’s administration.” Before takeoff on the Olbia-Bologna flight, departing Saturday, August 29 at 10:15 PM, this was the announcement by a Ryanair pilot to the microphones.
The Bolognese entrepreneur Francesco Ponzellini, on board the flight, recounts: “We were a few minutes late, I was traveling with my wife and we were already seated on board when the pilot provided travelers with a series of information about the flight. Typical communications before takeoff, which I was listening to distractedly when at one point I heard him say that the delay was related to a measure by the Matteo Lepore administration. My wife Laura and I looked at each other astonished. I don’t even know which measure he was referring to, but it is disconcerting.”
The Enac ordinance of 2023
The pilot’s reference was to the ordinance of Enac, the National Civil Aviation Authority, which established the reduction of night overflights (from 11 PM to 6 AM) over the urban area of Bologna. An ordinance from June 2023, in collaboration with Enav and Bologna Airport, aimed at balancing the operational safety of flights with the reduction of noise impact. Therefore, the Airport and the Municipality agreed to start a “shared path” based on “concrete initiatives”.
The need is to balance the benefits in terms of connectivity and economic and employment impact on the territory, with the objectives of protecting the well-being and health of citizens residing in the areas of the city subject to aircraft overflights. In this way, there will be a reduction of inhabited areas overflown by aircraft during takeoff, with benefits in terms of noise impact.
