Air France, British Airways, RyanAir and EasyJet have all canceled their flights to and from Italy in response to the Coronavirus emergency.
Air France will halt all flights to and from Italy from 14 March to 3 April; until March 14, only one flight per destination will be maintained.
On its Foreign Travel Advice page, the British government “advises against all but essential travel to Italy, due to an ongoing outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) and in line with various controls and restrictions imposed by the Italian authorities on 9 March.” It specifies that “British nationals remain able to depart Italy without restriction. Airports remain open throughout Italy.” It also recommends to “stay indoors and avoid contact with other people” if returning to the UK from “anywhere in Italy on or after 9 March” and “specific area in northern Italy in the last 14 days,” even in the absence of any symptoms.
British Airways has announced the suspension of all flights to and from Italy. Until now, the British carrier had canceled part of its connections between the UK and Italy due to the drop in bookings, then had proceeded to cancel flights to and from Milan, Venice and Bergamo in northern Italy, the area most affected by the virus.
Ryanair is canceling all international flights to and from Italy until April 9 starting on Saturday. Passengers who need to return home will be able to fly until the end of Friday. "Ryanair sincerely apologizes to all customers for these interruptions caused by the restrictions put in place by the Italian government and by the latest decision to halt the whole country to fight Covid-19," said a spokesman for the airline.
EasyJet has announced the cancellation of flights between the UK and Italy until April 3. A spokesman for the British carrier announced that, in the coming days, the company will guarantee only a few ‘emergency flights’ between Italy and the UK for repatriation and for necessary instances such as for “work or health.” Passengers of canceled flights will be contacted by email or text message with information on refund or rebooking options.
Air Canada has announced the interruption of daily flights to Italy due to the coronavirus epidemic. The airline's last scheduled flight to Italy departs from Montreal today; no further flights are scheduled until at least May 1st. Delta has halted flights between New York-JFK and Rome from 11 March to 30 March.
The Spanish government has decided to stop all direct flights between Italy and Spain until March 25, according to El Pais newspaper.
Malta has suspended all passenger connections with Italy, both by air and by sea. More than 9,000 Italians live on the island, in addition to a few thousand more who travel there for study, work or vacation.
Austria has closed its borders to anyone arriving from Italy, except for Austrian nationals. The closure has not been agreed with Italy, but simply notified to the Italian ambassador in Vienna after the decision had already been taken. All air, rail and road connections between the two countries are currently suspended, while goods can still travel with some restrictions.
