While expecting to return to Saubadia to her husband and three sons, Gabriella Cario (57), a flight attendant, began feeling unwell while waiting at the boarding gate at Reggio Calabria Airport in Naples, Italy. This happened last Saturday, September 14, 2024.
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The report by Il Mattino narrates the events that ensue. After refusing medical treatment and boarding the plane, her condition worsened dramatically and, after just a few minutes, Cario died in front of her colleagues and the plane's passengers.
While the passengers were disembarked from the plane so that paramedics could attempt to revive Cario, all their efforts were futile. They pronounced her dead and the cause of her death was reported as a "sudden illness".
After Cario's death, ITA Airways flight 1156 which was supposed to fly her home to Rome Fiumicino airport, was postponed. Moreover, authorities in Reggio Calabria Airport also delayed other flights.
Remembering Gabriella Cario
Alberto Mosca, Sabaudia mayor had this to say about Cario: "I knew Gabriella. She was a bright, always-smiling, and kind woman. On behalf of the administration and the entire community, I extend our heartfelt condolences to her husband and her beloved three children."
As the news broke on social media, several users expressed their condolences. Some even expressed how they knew Cario from their experience with ITA Airways. One user said: "She was my flight attendant a year ago when I was flying standby to Rome!!!!! The sweetest gal! We talked about all of our kiddos and flying as moms."
Another user expressed her experience with the airline: "How sad. I flew ITA recently and the crew were very polite and attentive. May she RIP." A travel webpage reflected: "We always think we are fine, but we are not machines. Please take your health seriously out there, my dear colleagues. This is tragic."
Gabriella Cario, originally from Vomero, Naples, moved to Saubadia with her family at a young age. She quickly became a hostess at what once was Alitalia - now reborn as ITA Airways - and established herself with her family. She leaves behind her husband and her three sons: Mattia, Marco, and Livio.
The funeral for Cario took place on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, in her hometown in Sabaudia at the Santissima Annuziata parish.
