TTmex

We're due to go to Milan, Verona and Venice in early April. Am monitoring closely and feeling likely we will cancel. Thankfully 5 of the 7 nights are refundable because booked flex hotel rates. Though will likely lose 2 nights in a nice spa hotel which cost a handsome sum. Such is life. However, BA moved my flight departure by 10 mins a month or so back, so assume under that I can cancel for a full refund. I never confirmed any change in mmb when it happened so technically have not agreed to it. Is that the case?

Worse is have Vietnam booked for July. Looking at 300 USD hit per person getting refund from JAL. Plus that will be game over for gold retention as lose some 500 TPs.

Any way these things are not important. People's health is much more vital than my gold card or a holiday. Hope they can help stem the flow soon and ensure people get good quality care.

GetSetJetSet

Supposed to go skiing in Switzerland soon, hoping Italy can keep this bottled up and it doesn't spread around Europe.

1010101

Temperature checks have been taking place in Italian airports for weeks, since the beginning of February.

I flew Milan to London this morning and it was packed, although people in the airport were noticeably subdued. Everybody was keeping their distance and nobody really talking. Northern Italy has been pretty much shut down so I cant see flights staying full for long.

alex67500

Same here. And anyone travelling from/through Italy is now to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Even questioning the Sofia do this weekend at this rate

brunos

Business meetings cancelled in Milan for later this week. I guess that most companies will do the same.
The precedent of the off-site seminar in Singapore that spread the virus in so many countries is scary.
If we look at what happened on regional flights in Asia, frequency has been drastically reduced to/from affected countries. It might take a while though.

VSLover

i flew LHR-BLQ (bologna) on friday. upon arrival, yes temperature taken upon entering immigration...and otherwise all seemed quite normal.

this morning however, a very different story in the airport and on the plane with a significant number of people in masks. but otherwise was kind of surprised to see nothing once landed at LHR--i guess i thought they would do some form of temp check on flights from n italy, but at lease not yet!

EuropeanPete

I'm no physician, but isn't it a bit odd to avoid the whole of Italy, but not areas of Switzerland which are right next door to where the virus is?

KevinDTW

Exactly correct, not to mention the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

lhrsfo

The Bologna book fair scheduled for late March has been cancelled.

wb1969

Last 2 Italian 6 Nations matches are under threat. The final game against England on 14/3 will bring tens of thousands of fans to the country, including me, with the potential to pick up the virus and bring it home.

A13

I cancelled a Hong Kong trip for this weekend a couple of weeks back and replaced it with a weekend to Bergamo!
FML.

henry999

Followup: The flight (585) left 30 minutes late but as far as I could tell the delay had nothing to do with corona. No temperature screening or other special attention on arrival at T5.

samadeus

Maybe someone here with knowledge of the situation on the ground in Milan can help me out, as Qatar Airways aren't helping! I have a flight from HKG - MXP via DOH - at the moment there are no restrictions on second city flights, so it is not cancelled (and insurance won't cover its cancellation). I had a week planned travelling through Italy (Milan - Verona - Venice) which now I will need to cancel as it was with my fiance's parents, who will now not be traveling from the UK to join us (her mum is undergoing treatment for a long term illness, and would be in the very high risk category if she caught the virus).

What are my options here? I need to return to the UK eventually, so I've asked QR to change my flights, but they are not budging, as there's no official reasons to do so other than my worries we'll get stuck in Italy. I'm already set to lose a fortune in hotel booking costs, and so money is tight - the thought of just cancelling the flights (I booked them ages ago) and losing the money, and having to rebook flights somehow is really galling.

My question is: in MXP will they ask where we travelled from if we transferred in Doha? In HKG we have not left the apartment and have no symptoms of illness, but could they potentially detain/quarantine us if they were to know we travelled from HKG? If I just book another flight from MXP to the UK so we can just transit in MXP, would that work?

Any help from the FT community much appreciated - feeling very stressed about it all (and wish I'd booked refundable hotels - my fault - but I planned it all last summer)

TallyCast

I'm in Tuscany, leaving for Bologna on Saturday and for Milano 4 March,for a flight 5 March on BA to LHR and then on to the states. Some friends and family members in the US are urging me to drop everything and return home immediately. I'm not too worried about the disease but am worried about Milano Linate closing, or the possibility of a curfew in Milano preventing me from getting to the airport from my hotel for my early morning flight.

corporate-wage-slave

I don't think you will have a problem. They just scan you for temperature, not one word is spoken. At passport control it's e-gates at MXP. There are some restrictions on those from China with visas, but the nature of Schengen visas means that has limited scope and Italy has committed itself to staying within Schengen. So yes, just book a MXP-LHR service with a very long connection, but book it cleanly on BA.com or the App as a single or return Plus fare - no add-ons or discounts or Avios reductions. That way you can use the App to pull the flight forward to an earlier service under Free Change on Day. There is a specific thread on how to use FCOD in the Dashboard. If you do have a connection then you don't pass through passports, there is a connection route which keeps you external to Schengen.