As of May 16, Americans are allowed to travel to Italy for tourism without having to quarantine upon arrival - but only if they travel via a government-approved ‘Covid-tested’ flight. Read below for the details.
What is a Covid-tested flight?
As defined on the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website ‘Viaggiare Sicuri’, Covid-tested flights are those where “passengers are allowed to board following a mandatory rapid antigen test performed before boarding or upon presentation of certification attesting the negative result of a molecular or antigen swab test taken within 48 hours prior to boarding. Upon arrival in Italy, passengers must test again at the airport of arrival.”
Leisure travelers are admitted into Italy other flights but must quarantine upon arrival.
Do I have to take a Covid-tested flight even if I’m vaccinated?
Yes, as of now, you do. The Covid-tested flight requirement applies to all travelers, whether vaccinated or not. Once in Italy, travelers arriving on a Covid-tested flight having tested negative also on arrival are exempt from quarantine.
Which U.S. airlines operate Covid-tested flights?
Delta has operated Covid-tested flights from the U.S. to Italy since last December, but flying was possible only for essential reasons.
Delta offers the following nonstop COVID-tested services to Italy:
Five-times-a-week between Atlanta and Rome, increasing to daily May 26
Daily service between New York-JFK and Milan
Three-times-a-week from JFK to Rome, increasing to daily July 1
Additionally, Delta said in a statement that it will “launch three more nonstop routes this summer: New York-JFK to Venice beginning July 2, as well as Atlanta to Venice and Boston to Rome beginning Aug. 5.”
All Delta flights to Italy are operated in conjunction with partner Alitalia.
More recently, American Airlines has also started offering Covid-tested flights: the daily JFK to Milan Malpensa route since April 2, and the three-times weekly service JFK to Rome (FCO) since May 8. “With the recent change in Italy’s travel restrictions, any customers, whether traveling for leisure or essential business, are eligible to fly on American’s flights from New York to Italy starting May 16,” the airline said in a statement.
American also operates four-times weekly service between Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and FCO and “expects those flights to become quarantine-free and open to all travelers in the coming days,” the airline said in the same statement dated May 16, 2021.
It is not currently known if other airlines will launch similar flights.
Digital Passenger Locator Form (dPLF)
As of 23 March 2021, all passengers entering Italy via Covid-tested flights are required to fill, before boarding, a digital Passenger Locator Form (dPLF).
Passengers must provide their contact information and the address where they will be staying in Italy, so that the Italian Health Authority can contact them promptly in case they have been exposed to Covid-19 on their flight. Airlines are responsible for verifying that the dPLF has been completed before allowing the passenger to board the plane. Passengers who do not submit the form will be denied boarding.
The dPLF is available at the following link: https://app.euplf.eu/.
Italy’s national curfew
Starting May 19, 2021, Italy’s national curfew will be pushed to 11 pm (previously it kicked in at 10 pm). It has also been announced that the curfew will be pushed an hour further to midnight from June 7 and lifted entirely on June 21. In all these cases, the curfew is in place until 5 am. The easing of curfew applies to low-risk regions only (regions where infections are low, classified as white and yellow zones - currently all of Italy is yellow, except for Aosta Valley, which is orange - moderate risk zone).
Please note: the information listed above was accurate on the date of publication but the situation regarding Italy travel during Covid-19 changes rapidly. The information above may not longer be accurate on the date you are reading this article.
