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TRAVEL: Italy added to UK’s Covid-19 quarantine list as new cases rise

Travellers to the UK from Italy will have to quarantine from Sunday under new rules.

Published: 15 October 2020 18:10 CEST

TRAVEL: Italy added to UK's Covid-19 quarantine list as new cases rise

Travellers at Rome's Fiumicino airport. File photo: AFP

Passengers arriving in Britain from Italy will have to self-isolate for 14 days from this weekend, the UK government said on Thursday as it updated its coronavirus travel list.

The quarantine requirement for travellers from Italy, San Marino and the Vatican State applies across the UK from 4:00 am (0300 GMT) on Sunday,

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.

TRAVEL CORRIDOR UPDATE: We are REMOVING ITALY, Vatican City state & San Marino from the #TravelCorridor list.

However, note that the implementation date is moved to 4am on SUNDAY 18 October & applies UK wide, if you arrive from these destinations you will need to self-isolate.

— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) October 15, 2020

But those coming to England from the Greek island of Crete will no longer have to self-isolate, according to the new list.

Italy joined other major tourist destinations on the list, including France and Spain, as a second wave of coronavirus sweeps Europe and triggers stricter

halth measures.

“Data has indicated the weekly cases and test positivity are increasing in Italy and so ministers have taken the decision to remove the destinations

(from the safe list),” the transport ministry said in a statement.

On October 7th, Italy made it mandatory for all arrivals from the UK to undergo testing for Covid-19 due to the UK's current infection rate.

Italy on Thursday reported a new record high daily number of new coronavirus cases, with 8,804 recorded within 24 hours.

The number of deaths doubled, from 42 on Wednesday to 84 on Thursday.

The number of coronavirus patients in intensive care in Italy rose by 47 to a total of 586.

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Why are flight prices higher in Italy than the rest of Europe this summer?

Italy may be at the start of a summer tourism boom, but that’s no thanks to the cost of its airline tickets, which are higher than ever this year.

According to a recent analysis in Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, intra-Europe fares from June to September 2024 are down three percent on average compared to the same period last year – but Italy’s flight costs have risen.

The average price of a summer flight between Italy and the rest of Europe has increased by seven percent since 2023, data shows, while domestic flights cost as much as 21 percent more.

Corriere doesn’t offer much of an explanation for the hikes, though says industry sources say it could be down to demand being higher than anticipated.

READ ALSO: How Europe’s new EES border checks will impact flight passengers

It’s true that supply chain issues have reduced the available fleet of global aircraft at a time when the appetite for international travel is as high as ever – but this is an industry-wide problem that shouldn’t disproportionately affect Italy.

Carmelo Calì, the vice president of consumer rights watchdog Confconsumatori, suggested in a recent interview that the main culprit is a lack of healthy competition in the Italian market.

“Despite what is said to the contrary, in our country companies often find themselves operating at airports practically alone,” Calì told consumer publication Il Salvagente (The Lifejacket).

“Even when there is competition, prices remain high, because the race is upwards and not downwards.”

The high price of Italy’s domestic flights have been a point of contention for years, with consumer unions long complaining that fares for tickets between mainland Italy and the major islands are exorbitant.

Italy’s Price Surveillance Guarantor Benedetto Mineo, who officially goes by Mister Prezzi (‘Mr. Prices’), last summer called on the seven main airlines operating in Italy to account for a 40 percent annual increase in the cost of some key domestic routes.

READ ALSO: Why two Swiss to Italy flight routes are ‘the most turbulent’ in Europe

This was followed by the government announcing a price cap on flights connecting Sardinia and Sicily to the Italian mainland – that it promptly shelved just one month later, after budget carrier Ryanair led a furious pushback by low cost airlines.

“Here companies believe they have freedom that they don’t have elsewhere, convinced they can get away with it, while in the rest of Europe they fear being punished,” said Calì.

That may explain why the EU’s competition watchdog has been so slow to approve a proposed partial takeover of Italy’s national flag carrier ITA by Germany airline Lufthansa.

The Commission has repeatedly insisted that Lufthansa must give away a certain number of its slots at Milan’s Linate airport in compliance with EU competition rules in order for the deal to go ahead.

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