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Passengers are flooding in from coronavirus-hit Italy today without health checks and claiming they have not been given any information about self-isolation.

This despite Italy being locked down in an effort to contain its coronavirus explosion, which has seen it suffer the most cases outside of China, where the virus began.

Some passengers arriving at Gatwick Airport were unaware of official advice to quarantine themselves - or 'self-isolate' - for 14 days.

Several people from Naples said they would be taking public transport back to their homes, while confirming that they did not undergo any checks to determine whether they had contracted the virus.

Neapolitan Paolo Lauletta, 41, who drives a cab in Brighton, said: “My flight was about 60 per cent full.

(Image: PA)

“The Italian people, they are very scared the last couple of days.

“I don’t know about self-isolation, because I have only been in Italy for the last five days.

“I wasn’t given any advice about self-isolating. My wife is picking me up to take me back to Brighton.

“We weren’t given any information on the plane or checked when we came off.

“It was very quiet in Naples. Lots of people wearing masks, about 80 per cent of events were cancelled.”

British Airways suspended all its flights to and from Italy today after Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte extended emergency coronavirus measures, including travel restrictions, to the whole country.

After Prime Minister Conte introduced the measures, the UK government urged anyone returning to Britain from Italy to self-isolate for two weeks - regardless of whether they were experiencing any symptoms.

(Image: Daily Star)

However several flights from Italy were still scheduled to arrive at Gatwick Airport today, despite the Foreign Office warning against all but essential travel.

Beauty salon owner Mariana Tessitore, 28, said: “It’s very bad in Naples. I was there for one week.

“There is just more panic, I think there might even be too much drama honestly.

“On the plane everything was normal. I don’t know if there are some controls here.

“I’m feeling completely good, probably I will check with my GP to see what he suggests.

“Of course I would be willing to self-isolate, but nothing was said about it on the plane.

“They said ‘wash your hands’, ‘be careful’ - but nothing about self-isolation.

“I’m going home by train. They didn’t tell us anything about transport.”

(Image: Getty Images)

Engineer Anna De Luca, 30, who also lives in Brighton, said: “I have all my family in Naples.

"I think it’s just crazy. I’m actually quite shocked, there were no checks at all.

“So I said, I will take some responsibility and wear the mask - even if it’s useless.

“But even in Naples they did a check, and told us to stay one metre away from the next person.

“And then on the plane there was nothing. We weren’t given any information.

“I just asked a man working here, he said maybe you should phone 111, but there were no checks at all.

(Image: Hannah Dodd)

“There is nothing, and then the poster is really old. All of Italy is now in the ‘red zone’, it’s not just the north.

“My company said that maybe I’m allowed to work from home, and they said I could do that for fourteen days.

“I hope my boyfriend can come tonight, because I’m completely alone.

“I don’t really know how I’m getting home. They say you should avoid transport, but then should I take a taxi? It’s very expensive.

“Then if I take a bus, it’s the same thing as the train. The only thing I can is wear a mask.

“It’s not been clear enough. On the government website, it is written that everybody coming after 9 March should be isolated - but they don’t specify for how many days, so I don’t know. I’m very critical.”

(Image: PA)

Carmine Loru, 39, who arrived at Gatwick on a Vueling flight from Florence, said that he had been given no information about self-isolation, and had not undergone any tests to ascertain if he was carrying the virus.

Mr Loru, whose family is from Florence, said: "There is a lot of paranoia in Italy, but here there is not even anybody checking us.

"I read on the BBC that I'm supposed to stay at home for 14 days, but nobody said anything about that on the plane.

(Image: Hannah Dodd)

"In Florence they didn't tell us anything about what to do in London.

"I work from home for a music website here in London so, yes, I will self-isolate."

Another man, Giovanni - who did not want to give his surname - said that he would be self-isolating in London, but was given no information about what to do once he got off the plane.

The 50-year-old, who works selling sanitary products in London, said: "Yes, of course I will self-isolate.

"We were given no information about how we should get home or anything like that.

(Image: Hannah Dodd)

"I think everybody is being a bit fatalist. I personally have a surgical mask which I was using on the plane, and which I will use as soon as I get on the train - and I think I will wear it for the next few days if I do go out."

A woman arriving from Florence, who gave her name as Maria, said she had not been told that she had to self-isolate at all.

When told that the latest guidance from the Government was for anyone who has visited Italy to self-isolate Maria, who does not live in London, said: "No, I didn't know that.

"We were given no advice or information about that on the plane at all."

(Image: PA)

Despite cancelling a host of services to and from Italy, a number of EasyJet flights - from places like Naples and Bologna - were still scheduled to arrive at Gatwick today.

A spokesman from the budget airline said: "Following the latest decree issued 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."

(Image: REUTERS)

After it cancelled all its flights until April, a spokesman for British Airways said: "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.

"We have updated our policy to give customers more options and flexibility.

"Any travellers 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."

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We have amended our travel advice to recommend against all but essential travel to Italy.

"The safety of British nationals is always our number one priority.

"The advice is that anyone who arrives from Italy subsequent to Italian government decision should now self-isolate for 14 days."