BOTH AER LINGUS and Ryanair have announced the full suspension of their flight schedules both into and out of Italy.

It follows the decision from the Italian government to put the country into an effective lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19.

The entire population of Italy woke up to lockdown conditions this morning as travel restrictions have been extended to the whole country.

It is understood that Aer Lingus has decided to suspend flights into and out of Italy from tomorrow until 3 April. All affected customers will be contacted directly.

Ryanair was first with it announcement today – it had already suspended numerous flights from northern Italy in particular, but these new measures will affect all domestic and international flights into and out of Italy.

All affected passengers have been notified, and those currently in the country looking for repatriation can obtain a free move to an earlier Ryanair flight operating up until midnight on 13 March.

From midnight tomorrow night until midnight Wednesday 8 April, Ryanair is suspending all Italian domestic flights.

It’s also suspending all Italian international flights – including those to and from Ireland – from midnight on Friday 13 March until the same date in April.

“Affected passengers will be able to choose between a full refund or a travel credit that can be redeemed on Ryanair flights in the next 12 months,” the company said.

Ryanair continues to comply fully with WHO and national Government guidance and travel bans. The situation is changing on a daily basis, and all passengers on flights affected by travel bans or cancellations, are receiving emails and are being offered flight transfers, full refunds or travel credits.

Ryanair apologises sincerely to all customers for these schedule disruptions, which are caused by national Government restrictions and the latest decision of the Italian Government to lock down the entire country to combat the Covid-19 virus.

If you’ve been affected by these flight cancellations, we want to hear from you – send us a message to tips@thejournal.ie.