To add insult to injury, sporting insult. And the blame, albeit indirectly, lies with the Lega Calcio Serie A. In total, 130 fans returning from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were stranded at Naples airport this morning, in transit, as they did not receive their boarding passes for Milan in time. Possible? Yes, unfortunately. The Lega Calcio itself clarified the contours of the incident through a note. Incidentally: last night, as is known, Inter were beaten on penalties by Bologna (1-1 result in the 90th minute) and were therefore eliminated from the Italian Super Cup. Hence the return of some fans.
The League’s apologies
«The Lega Calcio Serie A – reads the note – was shocked to learn of the discomfort experienced this morning by 130 fans upon arrival at Naples airport, returning from the trip to Saudi Arabia for the Italian Super Cup. This trip was organized by the Lega Calcio Serie A for almost 200 Italian fans of the four participating teams, with the utmost logistical attention and in collaboration with technical partners specialized in charter transport. Unfortunately, after landing at Capodichino, there were problems related to the flight documentation of passengers in transit to Milan, who were blocked by the airport’s Border Police for a few hours, while the Napoli fans got off without problems. This delay meant that the charter’s on-board staff exceeded the maximum number of continuous working hours and therefore necessarily had to stop for the 11-hour break required by law.” And again: «The Lega Calcio Serie A contacted the fans involved directly, apologizing to them and, although it had no direct responsibility for the incident, it immediately took action to resolve the operational problem and reimburse all travel costs that the fans will incur to return to their respective cities. Furthermore, the Lega Calcio Serie A, as a gesture of attention, intends to offer them, in addition to covering all costs incurred for their return, an annual subscription to the DAZN platform and entry to the stadium for one of their favorite team’s next home matches. Evidently the League will formally contest the disservices to the contracted suppliers.”
Nerazzurri also from Ticino
Among the fans affected by the outage was also Leo Vinelli, president and founder of the Inter Club JZ4 Non Mollare Mai of Cadenazzo. Who, contacted by us, explained: «The Football League gave packages to the four teams present at this edition of the Super Cup, therefore Napoli, Milan, Inter and Bologna». Vinelli, fortunately for him, was selected by his Inter: «A friend of mine and I left on Friday for Riyadh». The package includes a charter flight departing from Milan-Malpensa, the hotel, a guided tour of the city and two matches, the semi-finals Napoli-Milan (2-0 for the Neapolitans) and Bologna-Inter. After the Nerazzurri’s commitment, with the bitterness of being eliminated, “we left for the airport to return to Italy”. Introduction: «Both on the outward and return journey the flight stopped in Naples to also allow the Neapolitan fans to board and then disembark».
The odyssey and documentation
Vinelli, when asked about the organisation, added: «It wasn’t the best. Even during our stay in Saudi Arabia many small things didn’t work. Of course, overall it was a good experience and we have to thank the Lega Calcio Serie A. Having said that, if you offer free packages to the fans you shouldn’t put them in difficulty.”
Speaking of difficulties, the (real) problems started in the middle of the night, when it was two o’clock in Switzerland. «The flight was delayed, so we spent several hours at the airport waiting. The organizers, if they wanted, could have used the time to make sure that the participants’ documentation was in order.” The cold shower arrived in Naples this morning at 9: «We were told that there was a delay for Milan, first for one reason and then for another, but not even the shadow of a plausible explanation. In the end, after three hours locked on the plane without eating – after all, the plane’s crew had received no indications in this sense – tempers began to heat up. If we exclude a sandwich at the stadium, none of us had ingested anything since.”
The police subsequently “made us get off the plane and never allowed the plane to leave again.” The problem? The boarding passes for Milan, in fact, were never issued. The Italian authorities, consequently, could not allow the flight to Malpensa. The delay meant that the charter crew exceeded the maximum number of continuous working hours, making it necessary to stop for the 11-hour break required by law, with consequent inconvenience for passengers forced to return to their respective cities by other means: from trains to buses, via scheduled flights.
But the League?
Vinelli again: «It’s not true that the League showed up and took action immediately. No, we were told to get off and we were told to wait for a solution.” Which? «Return to Milan by bus». Not the best for those who perhaps needed to return for personal or work reasons. Not to mention those who, Bologna fans, had to return to Emilia-Romagna. «We, who had Ticino as our last destination, made do on our own, luckily finding scheduled flights». The League’s apologies, with a promise of reimbursement, arrived in the evening. «But you can’t repay the inconvenience. Not only that, what do people like me who already have a season ticket to the stadium do with a free ticket? And a subscription to DAZN?
In its statement, the League on the one hand clarified that it was not directly responsible for what happened and, on the other, that it took immediate action: «I wouldn’t say that they intervened promptly, also because for a long, long time we were closed on the plane. And then, basically, they are the ones who chose these partners. They should have made sure, first, of the quality offered.” Vinelli, in any case, has not lost his love for his beloved team: “Always Forza Inter.”
Whose flight was it?
For the record, flight E4522 operated by Enter Air with a 16-year-old Boeing 737-800 should have landed in Naples at 7.29am but landed on the Capodichino runway at 8.54am. Enter Air is a Polish charter airline, based in Warsaw, which boasts a fleet of 26 Boeing 737-800s and 10 Boeing 737-MAX 8s.
