British Airways has canceled all flights to Italy until the 4th of April. The move, first spotted by Head for Points, comes as the country was yesterday placed into lockdown amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

British Airways, Italy cancelations, coronavirus
British Airways has canceled flights to Italy until the 4th of April. Photo: Getty Images

As coronavirus continues to extend its grip on the world, Italy is finding itself particularly hard hit. The entire country was yesterday placed into lockdown in order to try and contain the spread of the virus.

As a result, many airlines have been canceling flights to Italy. British Airways has just followed suit canceling all flights to Italy until the 4th of April. Earlier today Wizz Air announced that it would be suspending flights to Italy until the 3rd of April.

This morning, the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised against all but essential travel to Italy. British Airways previously canceled flights to China on similar advice from the government.

How do we know?

British Airways was unable to directly confirm the flight cancellation to Simple Flying at this time, however, we were unable to find flights to Italy during the window up to the 4th of April. Additionally, on the British Airways Trade Support website, as spotted by Head For Points, a note has been added stating:

Italy - all flights have been cancelled up to and including 4 April 2020.

Single European Sky
The UK government wants cleaner aircraft in the skies over the next few decades. Photo: Getty Images

What if I had flights booked?

As a result of Italy being placed in a lockdown yesterday, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against all but essential travel to Italy. As a result, British Airways has canceled all flights to the country for around a month until the 4th of April 2020.

Unlike an airline bankruptcy, passengers have much more protection. In this instance, British Airways is already offering passengers the option of a refund or rebooking their travel for a later date. From a customer point of view, it is important that contact details are up to date so that the airline can inform them of the next steps.

easyJet and British Airways
The current policy will stunt the aviation industry's recovery. Photo: Getty Images

British Airways statement

Simple Flying approached British Airways regarding the cancellation. In response, a British Airways spokesperson told Simple Flying:

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).

We have updated our policy to give customers more options and flexibility. Any travelers due to fly to or from Italy between now and April 4 can rebook to a later date up until the end of May, move their destination to Geneva or Zurich or receive a full refund.

This is a breaking story that is being updated by the Simple Flying team. If you can see this message, be sure to update the page for the latest version.