British Airways Has Cancelled All Flights To And From Italy For Three Weeks

Major airlines, including British Airways and Ryanair, have cancelled all flights to and from Italy for the next 3-4 weeks in light of the growing coronavirus outbreak.

Travellers who are due to fly to the Mediterranean country between 10th March and 4th April with British Airways can rebook to a date up until the end of May free of charge, the airline announced today.

Meanwhile, Ryanair will suspend all domestic flights, from Wednesday 11th March and all international flights from Friday 13th March until Wednesday 8th April.

The news comes after Italy imposed a nationwide lockdown on Monday. The country is the hardest-hit after China and as of yesterday has over 9,000 cases.

In a bid to help prevent the spread of the virus, British Airways has now halted flights to and from Italy, joining Whizz Air and Norwegian - airlines which have already stopped flights to the country.

They also have the option of moving their destination to Geneva or Zurich or they can receive a full refund.

British Airways operates 60 routes between the UK and Italy and the news is set to impact thousands of travellers with upcoming holiday plans.

However, the Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to the country.

A spokeswoman for British Airways said: "In light of the Italian Government's announcement and the UK Government's official travel advice, we have contacted all customers who are due to travel today.

"We have updated our policy to give customers more options and flexibility.

"Any travellers due to fly to or from Italy between now and April 4 can rebook to a later date up until the end of May, move their destination to Geneva or Zurich or receive a full refund.

"We recommend that any travellers continue to check their booking on ba.com for the latest information and ensure their contact details are up-to-date in the Manage My Booking section of the website."

Meanwhile, easyJet is still operating flights to the country, although there have been many cancellations.

Italy made the decision to place the entire country in lockdown yesterday, with public gatherings banned, sports events suspended, schools and universities closed and travel restricted.

It means around 60 million people will be in lockdown until 3rd April and those returning from any region in Italy have been told to self-isolate - even if they do not have symptoms.

Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said: "The future depends on us and everyone must do their part."

You can view cases by country below:

China - 80,761

Italy - 9,172

South Korea - 7,513

Iran - 7,161

France - 1,412

Spain - 1,235

Germany - 1,224

USA - 729

Japan - 543

Switzerland - 374

UK - 321

Netherlands - 321

Sweden - 261

Belgium - 239

Norway - 239

Singapore - 160

Austria - 157

Denmark - 156

Malaysia - 117

Hong Kong - 116

Bahrain - 110

Australia - 103

Greece - 89

Canada - 77

Iraq - 71

Kuwait - 69

Iceland - 65

Egypt - 59

UAE - 59

India - 56

Thailand - 53

San Marino - 51

Israel - 50

Taiwan - 45

Lebanon - 41

Czechia - 40

Finland - 40

Portugal - 39

Philippines - 33

Vietnam - 31

Brazil - 25

Slovenia - 25

Palestine - 25

Ireland - 24

Algeria - 20

Russia - 20

Saudi Arabia - 20

Indonesia - 19

Oman - 18

Qatar - 18

Poland - 18

Argentina - 17

Romania - 17

Pakistan - 16

Ecuador - 15

Georgia - 15

Croatia - 13

Chile - 13

Hungary - 12

Macao - 10

Estonia - 10

Azerbaijan - 9

Costa Rica - 9

Peru - 9

Latvia - 8

North Macedonia - 7

Mexico - 7

Slovakia - 7

South Africa - 7

Belarus - 6

Albania - 6

Brunei - 6

Maldives - 6

Dominican Republic - 5

Luxembourg - 5

New Zealand - 5

Tunisia - 5

Bosnia and Herzegovina - 5

French Guiana - 5

Afghanistan - 4

Senegal - 4

Bulgaria - 4

Malta - 4

Serbia - 4

Morocco - 3

Bangladesh - 3

Colombia - 3

Cambodia - 2

Nigeria - 2

Cameroon - 2

Cyprus - 2

Faeroe Islands - 2

Martinique - 2

Saint Martin - 2

Andorra - 1

Armenia - 1

Jordan - 1

Lithuania - 1

Monaco - 1

Nepal - 1

Sri Lanka - 1

Ukraine - 1

Bhutan - 1

Burkina Faso - 1

Channel Islands - 1

Gibraltar - 1

Vatican City - 1

Liechtenstein - 1

Moldova - 1

Mongolia - 1

Panama - 1

Paraguay - 1

St Barth - 1

Togo - 1

Diamond Princess cruise ship - 696

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, Coronavirus

Lucy Devine

Lucy is a journalist working for Tyla. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, she has worked in both print and online and is particularly interested in fashion, food, health and women's issues. Northerner, coffee addict, says hun a lot. Get in touch at [email protected].

@lucedevine