Coronavirus: Travellers could lose money if they follow official advice on Italy flights

Travellers could lose their money if they comply with official advice and avoid flying to Italy amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice is to avoid all but essential travel to Italy – but many airlines have decided to continue to operate to the country.

This leaves passengers with a choice to make between flouting the FCO advice and travelling, or adhering to the restrictions and losing their money.

On Tuesday, British Airways became the first UK airline to suspend flights to Italy, which has been completely locked down due to the coronavirus outbreak, meaning its passengers will able to get a refund instead of travelling.

Ryanair has also suspended all flights to Italy, offering customers the option of a full refund or travel credit.

Jet2 customers due to fly to Venice have also had their flights cancelled and have been offered a date change or refund.

Despite the FCO advice, easyJet is still operating flights to Milan, Bologna and Venice, only offering passengers a refund on any government tax they paid if they cancel.

Norwegian Air says it is in the process of cancelling some of its flights, and giving everyone due to travel with them to Italy the chance to book for a later date. It gives no information about refunds.

Package holiday customers due to visit Italy in the coming days should be offered alternative travel arrangements by their operator, otherwise they should be given a refund under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements 2018 regulations.

ABTA, the organisation that governs travel agents, says it is “too early” to know whether summer holidays will be affected, adding that if passengers cancel too early, they may have to pay the cancellation fees.

Those people who have booked travel or accommodation directly are encouraged to contact their provider to discuss the options available to them.

Holidaymakers are also being advised to check their travel insurance to see if it covers non-refundable cancellations for those areas where the FCO advice has been put in place.

:: Listen to the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

Those returning from anywhere in Italy are being advised to self-isolate and avoid contact with others for two weeks, even if they do not display COVID-19 symptoms.

Apart from China, Italy has the highest number of cases in the world of coronavirus, with more than 9,000 people testing positive, prompting the country’s government to take the drastic step of locking down the country.

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Travellers could lose money if they follow official advice on Italy flights