Italy: Man Attacks Airport Check-in Counter at Milan's Malpensa Airport

Hat tip Gates of Vienna

As is usually the case, the news out of Milan is not good. According to yesterday's online edition of Il Giornale, a gentleman attacked a check-in counter at Milan's Malpensa Airport with a hammer and actually set fire to it before being subdued by a passenger. pending arrival of airport police.  (Milan has two airports, Malpensa and Linate, the former used for transcontinental flights and the latter for flights within Italy and Europe.)

The article below from Il Giornale is translated by Fousesquawk.

Sets fire and attacks a check-in counter with a hammer at Malpensa (airport): Man from Mali arrested

The man was arrested by law enforcement, and no serious injuries were recorded. The flames were extinguished.

By Francesca Galici, 20 August 2025 at 13:24

A serious assault at Terminal 1 at Malpensa Airport, Milano, where a man threw a flammable liquid at check-in counter 13. The incident occurred before 11 am, and the perpetrator was a Malian man who also took a hammer to the same check-in counter. No one was seriously injured, and the flames were extinguished. The fire department evacuated the terminal out of precaution, but the flames were immediately brought under control. 

The operations continued without any particular disruption in aerial traffic. Investigations are underway to reconstruct the incident. The man is legally in the country and has no previous police record. Many of the passengers present at that moment recorded videos which were posted online and show the flames at the check-in counter and the passengers fleeing. It appears that the first to stop the Malian was a passenger who awaited the arrival of law enforcement. 

The news spread rapidly around the world, and several new outlets showed the images from Milan. There is no information at this time as to the reasons that drove the man to such an act. The man is accused of aggravated damage.

The 20-year-old holds a residence permit, and yesterday was already reported for breaking a window in Milan with a hammer. On 16 August, he was at the airport and had tried to board a flight to Saudi Arabia, but was unsuccessful because his passport had been taken away after being detected as false.