ROME — British Airways and Dublin-based Ryanair announced Tuesday they have cancelled all flights to and from Italy after the country declared a nationwide lockdown Monday in an attempt to control the spread of the coronavirus.
“Ryanair apologises sincerely to all customers for these schedule disruptions, which are caused by national government restrictions and the latest decision of the Italian government to lock down the entire country to combat the Covid-19 virus,” reads a statement from the airline.
The company said the suspension of flights to Italy will extend at least through Wednesday, April 8.
“Affected passengers will be able to choose between a full refund or a travel credit that can be redeemed on Ryanair flights in the next 12 months,” the airline said.
For its part, British Airways (BA) has also cancelled all flights to and from Italy over the government lockdown.
“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 (10 March),” stated a BA spokesperson Tuesday.
According to the latest figures, there are currently 9,172 cases of COVID-19 in Italy, making it the nation with the largest number of infected people outside of China. So far, 463 people have died of the virus in Italy and the government has imposed a country-wide lockdown, meaning that some 60 million Italians have effectively been placed under quarantine.
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