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What you should know before you book cheap flights from the UK to Italy

As airlines begin to announce their summer flight schedules to Italy, here's what you should bear in mind before you plan an Italian holiday.

Published: 25 March 2021 15:59 CET
Updated: 25 March 2021 17:57 CET
What you should know before you book cheap flights from the UK to Italy
Can you book your holiday to Italy now? Photo: Oli Scarff/AFP

Low-cost carrier Ryanair is betting on a successful vaccination rollout and expanding its summer flight schedule between the UK and Italy.

Tourists can now book flights across 480 routes to destinations throughout Europe. The airline is inviting people to plan summer summer breaks to “Europe’s top cities” – including Italian historic hotspots such as Rome, Venice and Bologna.

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“The UK’s roadmap for the re-opening of air travel, coupled with their highly successful vaccination programme, gives UK families confidence that summer 2021 holiday travel will be possible,” read a statement on their website.

That confidence has encouraged the aviation firm to programme 2,300 flights per week and to make investments across Italy. It announced its biggest summer programme in Puglia with an extra ten new routes from Bari and Brindisi and an additional aircraft. From Puglia alone, there are over 290 flights scheduled each week.

The airline will also boost its Milan Bergamo base with ten new routes, as well as Bologna’s Marconi airport with eight new routes. Other Italian airports targeted for investment are Catania, Treviso, Naples, Palermo, Trapani, Alghero and Pisa. 

And to entice cautious customers, the airline has launched a seat sale until March 28th.

Given strict restrictions on international travel – and since most of Italy is currently in some form of partial lockdown – how feasible is it to book flights between the UK and Italy right now?

READ ALSO: How soon can Italy hope to restart tourism this summer?

Photo by Andreas SOLARO/AFP

According to the UK’s roadmap out of lockdown, May 17th is the date when international travel can resume at the earliest. 

For Italy’s part, travelling rules mainly vary depending on the country of origin and destination, as well as the reasons for travel.

The latest emergency decree remains in force until April 6th. The government has not yet announced how the rules will change after Easter.

EXPLAINED: What are the rules on travel between Italy and the UK?

Travel between the UK and Italy is currently banned, according to a special ordinance issued in January. People who have been in Great Britain or Northern Ireland in the previous 14 days are not allowed to enter Italy for tourism.

British people who own second homes in Italy but aren’t residents are also unable to enter the country until further notice.

The ban also affects people hoping to visit family members, partners or friends in Italy.

There are exceptions, such as for those who have registered residency in Italy or who have proven reasons of absolute necessity. These people can travel as long as they can show the relevant paperwork, get tested before and after travelling, and observe a 14-day quarantine.

READER QUESTIONS:

The current restrictions make holidays all but impossible.

But airlines don’t seem deterred. Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said: “UK families can now book a well-earned summer holiday safe in the knowledge that if their plans change for any reason they can move their travel dates up to two times with a zero-change fee up until the end of October 2021.”

So for this particular carrier, you have a total of three shots, including the initial booking, if travel restrictions prevent you from going on holiday in Italy. Note that there is no surcharge for changing your flight, but if your amended flight costs more than the original one you booked, you’ll need to stump up the difference.

The bookings must be made before June 30th to benefit from the surcharge-free deal – and what happens if continuing travel restrictions block you from taking your flights by the end of October isn’t specified.

Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP

With such confidence from Ryanair, are other airlines following suit?

EasyJet announced on Wednesday that it plans to “operate as many flights as possible over the coming days”. Due to the current travel restrictions, the carrier has proposed some flexibility with booking, including switching to another flight for free, requesting a flight voucher that is valid for 12 months or applying for a refund. 

Airline company Alitalia has published details on getting a flight voucher for cancellations of scheduled flights until October 31st 2021, which are valid for 18 months and are non-refundable.

If you are booking a flight to Italy this summer, check the individual carrier’s policies on refunds and cancellations and any amendments specific to the Covid-19 containment measures. Be sure to check whether you can get your money back if you’re unable to travel or simply a flight voucher, and how long you’ll have to rebook.

READ ALSO: 

Italy’s tourism minister has indicated that the country is keen to restart tourism as soon as infection rates and vaccination campaigns allow for it. But it’s too early to say yet when this could be.

And while the EU has discussed plans for a ‘health passport’, members states have not yet agreed on the scheme. 

Until a further easing of restrictions is announced, it’s still a gamble on whether you’ll be able to book a summer holiday in Italy.

We will publish any updates from Italian authorities relating to travel from the UK as soon as they are announced. You can see all the latest travel news from Italy here, and you can keep an eye on the Italian government’s travel updates here.

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COVID-19 RULES

EXPLAINED: Has Italy still got any Covid rules in place?

Italy is blissfully free of Covid restrictions this summer - or is it? Here's what you need to know about the country's few remaining rules.

Published: 30 May 2023 13:20 CEST
EXPLAINED: Has Italy still got any Covid rules in place?

If you thought Italy’s Covid rules ought to have more or less expired by now, you’d be right – almost. 

There are essentially no travel restrictions, no vaccination or testing obligations, and very few situations in which people are required to mask up.

However, a few nationwide health rules do remain in place that are worth knowing about.

Here’s what they are.

Masks

One notable exception to Italy’s Covid rule relaxations is the continued requirement to wear a mask in parts of health and residential care facilities that house vulnerable or immunosuppressed patients.

This rule had been due to expire on April 30th, but was renewed by decree on April 29th and will remain in place until the end of the year.

READ ALSO: What to expect when travelling to Italy in summer 2023

That means if you work in such a facility or need to visit a friend or family member there, you should come equipped with a mask.

Under-6’s, people whose disability prevents them from wearing a mask, and carers for whom wearing a mask would prevent them from communicating with a disabled patient are the only exceptions.

Quarantine

Then there are the quarantine rules.

‘Italy still has quarantine rules?!’ you ask incredulously.

According to former health director Giovanni Rezza, who retired this May, the answer is yes.

It was Rezza who signed off on a health ministry decree dated December 31st, 2022 that established the country’s latest quarantine restrictions.

Tourists visiting Italy no longer face Covid-related restrictions, though rules may apply in some circumstances. Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

That decree says that those who test positive but are asymptomatic must self-isolate for five days, or until they test negative at a pharmacy or health facility – whichever happens sooner.

Those who do experience symptoms should either test negative before exiting quarantine, or wait until they are symptomless for at least two days.

At the end of the isolation period, those who have left quarantine without taking a test are required to wear a high-grade FFP2 mask in public until the tenth day since the onset of symptoms or first positive test result.

READ ALSO: What are the upcoming strikes in Italy and how could they impact you?

People who have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid should wear an FFP2 mask in public until the fifth day since the last point of contact.

Earlier this month, Rezza told journalists at the national broadcaster Rai that since no expiration date was stipulated, the decree remains in force indefinitely.

The health ministry doesn’t appear to have weighed in on the matter, so for now it should be assumed that the quarantine rules are still active.

Of course, this all relies on the honour system, as most Covid tests these days are taken (if at all) in people’s own homes without the knowledge or involvement of state health authorities.

Travel

Finally, there have been some recent reports of new international travel restrictions specifically relating to China.

There has been talk of Italy’s airports reintroducing tests for arrivals from China. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP.

Towards the end of May, newspapers La Stampa and La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno reported that Covid tests had been reintroduced at Italy’s airports for arrivals from China, which has seen an uptick in cases.

However, neither the health ministry website nor the Foreign Ministry’s Viaggiare Sicuri (‘Travel Safe’) website appear to have published any updates to this effect.

In December 2022, Italy’s health ministry mandated that all arrivals from China must produce a recent negative test result before leaving for Italy and to take a test on arrival, though this rule was due to expire at the end of January.

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