ITALY has gone into lockdown as the UK government advises against all but essential travel to the country due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The death toll in Italy has jumped to 463 people, and more than 9,000 confirmed infections – here is everything you need to know about your flights and holidays to the country.
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What is the travel advice for Italy?
The UK government has updated their travel advice, warning against all travel to Italy – an update from just the north of the country which saw 16 million people affected.
The Foreign Office state: "The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all but essential travel to Italy, due to an ongoing outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19) and in line with various controls and restrictions imposed by the Italian authorities on 9 March.
"British nationals remain able to depart Italy without restriction. Airports remain open throughout Italy. However, airline schedules are subject to change and some flights are being cancelled. Travellers are advised to check flight details with airlines.
All museums, attractions and sporting events have been been closed, along with schools and universities, while restaurants and bars will only stay open until 6pm.
Tourists returning to the UK from Italy from March 9 are advised to self-quarantine even if without coronavirus symptoms.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued a Level 3 warning, recommending all but non-essential to Italy.
Can I cancel my holiday to Italy?
Due to the government's ban on all travel, travellers with flights or holidays booked should now be issued full refunds or free date changes.
Airlines are likely to cancel any upcoming flights to Italy – with British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair suspending a number of flights to Milan, Venice and Rome, among others.
An easyJet spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: "Following the latest decree issued 9 March by the Italian authorities implementing further restrictions for the whole of Italy, easyJet is currently reviewing its scheduled programme between 10 March and 3 April 2020.
"The majority of flights to and from Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate, Venice and Verona have been cancelled for the coming days and affected customers are being advised of their options by email and SMS which include rebooking and refunding."
British Airways are allowing passengers who have holidays to Venice, Milan or Bergamo up until April 4 to get a full refund, while holidays to Turin, Bologna and Verona up until April 4 can be rebooked for free until May 31.
A spokesperson previously told Sun Online Travel: "Following the change to the UK Government travel advice for Northern Italy, we are reviewing our schedule, and have contacted all customers who are due to travel today.
"We are also offering customers booked to fly before April 2, the option to change their booking up to another date up to the end of May, or to fly via Zurich or Geneva instead."
Ryanair have also cancelled all flights to Bergamo, Malpensa, Parma and Treviso until April 8.
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