Italy Archives – London Air Travel

British Airways Extends Italy Rebooking Policies

British Airways is now offering refunds for passengers due to fly to all airports in Italy up to 4 April 2020.

London Heathrow Terminal 5 (Image Credit: Heathrow)

British Airways has cancelled virtually all flights to and from Italy up and until Saturday 4 April 2020.

All BA flights to and from Bologna, Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa and Venice are cancelled. As are many flights to other airports such as Rome.

This follows news that Italy has been placed into quarantine to control the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Any BA passenger due to fly to and from Italy up to 4 April is entitled to a full refund, regardless of whether your flights is cancelled.

BA is also allowing passengers due to fly to and from any airport in Italy to fly to / from alternative BA airports in Europe. These include Geneva, Grenoble, Innsbruck, Lyon, Munich, Nice, Salzburg, Zagreb and Zurich. Passengers will be required to make their own way to / from the airport.

Affected passengers can check the status of their booking using the Manage My Booking tool on ba.com and should contact BA or their travel agent.

Note if you are booked to fly with BA on a codeshare booking made through another airline, such as American Airlines, you will need to contact the airline that issued your ticket for advice.

As this is a fluid situation the above guidance may be amended at any time.

British Airways Flexible Rebooking Policy For Italy

British Airways has introduced a flexible rebooking policy for passengers due to fly to Northern Italy following the Coronavirus outbreak.

London Air Travel » Italy

BA Airbus A319 aircraft at London Heathrow (Image Credit: British Airways)

Following reports of an outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Northern Italy, British Airways has introduced a flexible rebooking policy for passengers due to fly between any London airport and the airports below in Italy.

The airports are: Bergamo, Bologna, Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa, Turin, Venice and Verona.

Florence, Pisa and Rome are not currently included in the scope of the policy.

Passengers due to travel up to Monday 2 March 2020 can rebook up to Tuesday 31 March 2020.

Passengers can also change their flight to BA operated services to/from Geneva and Zurich airports. However, any consequential costs such as ground transportation will be at passenger’s expense.

Refunds are not currently available, unless allowed by existing fare rules.

Update: BA is now cancelling selected flights to Italy. If your flight is cancelled you are entitled to a full refund.

Note if you are booked to fly with BA on a codeshare booking made through another airline, such as American Airlines, you will need to contact the airline that issued your ticket for advice.

Affected passengers can check the status of their booking using the Manage My Booking tool on ba.com and should contact either BA or their travel agent.

As this is a fluid situation this guidance may be amended or withdrawn at any time.

Update Monday 2 March 2020: This has been extended so passengers due to travel up to Sunday 15 March 2020 can rebook up to Friday 3 April 2020.

British Airways Launches Gatwick – Milan Bergamo

BA will fly from London Gatwick to Milan Bergamo six times weekly from 1 September 2019.

London Air Travel » Italy

Naviglio Grande Canal, Milan (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways is to launch a new route from London Gatwick to Milan Bergamo.

BA will fly from Gatwick to Milan Bergamo (Orio al Serio International Airport) six times weekly, excluding Saturdays, from Sunday 1 September 2019. The airport is located approximately 60km away from Milan city centre.

Flights will operate year round. As tends to be par the course for BA at Gatwick flight times vary by day.

BA already flies from London City to Milan Linate and from London Heathrow to Milan Linate and Milan Malpensa. It is of course possible to “mix and match” airports if convenient. Milan Linate airport is due to close for three months from 27 July to 27 October 2019 for runway repair work.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

BA promises expansion at London City beginning with Rome

British Airways is promising a major expansion at London City airport with a new six times weekly route to Rome and 4 additional Embraer aircraft in 2019.

London Air Travel » Italy

BA CityFlyer Embraer at London City Airport

British Airways has today, Wednesday 29 August 2018, signalled a commitment to a significant expansion at London City.

It is to launch a new route from London City to Rome from Sunday 11 November 2018. Flights will operate six times weekly with Embraer E190 aircraft.

The airline is to also acquire an additional four Embraer E190 aircraft in 2019. This will increase the number of aircraft based at the airport from 22 to 26. It is presumed that these aircraft will either be leased or acquired second hand as BA had allowed options for new aircraft from Embraer to expire.

This news comes just one day after CityJet announced it is withdrawing scheduled flights from the airport and is handing over its route to Dublin to Aer Lingus.

In terms of possible new routes, BA has previously suspended a number of routes at London City. These include Alicante, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Madrid. LOT is also due to launch Budapest and Warsaw in early 2019. TAP has also recently launched Lisbon and Porto.

As London City is closed for part of the weekend, it is likely these these new aircraft will also be used to launch new winter and summer seasonal routes from Stansted and other UK regional airports at weekends.

Full details of BA’s current route network at London City are available at ba.com
Continue reading “BA promises expansion at London City beginning with Rome”

BA launches new ski routes from London Heathrow to Grenoble & Turin

BA will fly from London Heathrow to Grenoble once a week from 2 December 2017 and Turin twice weekly on Saturdays and Sundays from 26 November 2017.

London Air Travel » Italy

British Airways Short Haul Economy Cabin (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has announced the launch of two new seasonal weekend ski routes from London Heathrow. BA will fly to Grenoble in France once a week on Saturdays from 2 December 2017. BA will also fly to Turin in Italy twice weekly on Saturdays and Sundays from 26 November 2017.

These are seasonal routes which will operate until late March 2018. Flights will operate from London Heathrow Terminal 5 and will be operated by Airbus aircraft in a two class, Club Europe and EuroTraveller configuration.

BA also serves Turin from London Gatwick and it is possible to “mix and match” different London airports, if convenient.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

London Heathrow – Grenoble

Flight BA384 Depart London Heathrow 11:55 – Arrive Grenoble 14:45
Flight BA385 Depart Grenoble 15:40 – Arrive London Heathrow 16:30

London Heathrow – Turin

Flight BA600 Depart London Heathrow 07:05 – Arrive Turin 10:10 (Saturday)
Flight BA600 Depart London Heathrow 06:50 – Arrive Turin 09:55 (Sunday)
Flight BA601 Depart Turin 11:05 – Arrive London Heathrow 12:05 (Saturday)
Flight BA601 Depart Turin 10:45 – Arrive London Heathrow 11:45 (Sunday)

Ground transport strikes in Italy Friday 16 June

Widespread disruption is expected to air and ground transport services in Italy due to planned industrial action on Friday 16 June 2017.

London Air Travel » Italy

Widespread disruption is expected to air and ground transport services in Italy due to planned industrial action on Friday 16 June 2017.

The following airlines have issued guidance to passengers. Due to the widespread nature of the industrial action there may also be disruption to ground transportation services. Continue reading “Ground transport strikes in Italy Friday 16 June”

Disruption due to Air Traffic Controllers’ strike in Italy on Sunday 28 May 2017

Air Traffic Controllers in Italy are due to take industrial action on Sunday 28 May 2017, which is likely to cause disruption to flights.

London Air Travel » Italy

Air Traffic Controllers in some regions of Italy are due to take industrial action on the afternoon of Sunday 28 May 2017, the weekend of the late May bank holiday in the UK.

The strike will take place between 1pm and 5pm local time. This is likely to cause disruption with delays and cancellations, albeit on a smaller scale than originally thought. As a consequence the following airlines have issued guidance for affected passengers.

Please note that this page does not provide live flight information so any cancellations that will be listed are proactive cancellations made in advance, and do not necessarily include any delays/cancellations made on the day.

You can check live flight information on the websites of Gatwick, Heathrow and London City airports.
Continue reading “Disruption due to Air Traffic Controllers’ strike in Italy on Sunday 28 May 2017”

Uncertainty over Alitalia’s Heathrow routes as it enters administration

Alitalia has entered into administration, leading to uncertainty over its future at London Heathrow as its slots are owned by Etihad.

London Air Travel » Italy

As has been widely reported, today (Tuesday 2 May 2017) the shareholders of Alitalia (one of whom is Etihad) decided to put the airline into a formal administration process with the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.

This follows a decision by members of Alitalia’s trade unions not to accept a restructuring proposal which would have involved, inter alia, cuts to jobs and staff salaries and a restructuring of its short-haul operations. Had the restructuring plan been approved the shareholders would have provided new finance to the airline.

Under the administration process, the Italian Ministry of Economic Development will appoint a Commissioner which will manage the airline whilst it is in administration.

The Italian Government has approved the provision of a bridge loan which will allow Alitalia to continue operations for the foreseeable future.

If a buyer for Alitalia is found then Alitalia could continue in some form. However, a question will remain over its London Heathrow slots.

When Etihad acquired a stake in Alitalia in 2014, it bought all of its London Heathrow slots. These were valued at €60m. These are currently leased to Alitalia which uses them to operate five flights from London Heathrow to Milan Linate and Rome Fiumicino. (By comparison BA flies to Milan and Rome up to 10 and 6 times a day.) Whilst the precise terms are obviously commercially confidential it seems likely that these will revert back to Etihad at some point after Alitalia enters into administration.

Given that Scandinavian Airlines recently sold two London Heathrow slot pairs to American Airlines for $75million, Etihad could recoup some of its losses by selling them to other airlines or to expand its own network from London to Abu Dhabi. Either way, it is unlikely they will remain with Alitalia.

For further news on Alitalia’s situation we recommend checking Alitalia’s corporate website and the English language website of Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.

Air Traffic Controllers strike in Italy on Monday 20 March 2017

London Air Travel » Italy

Air Traffic Controllers in Italy are due to take industrial action over a period of four hours from 12:00 to 16:00 GMT on Monday 20 March 2017.

This is likely to cause disruption with delays and cancellations. As a consequence the following airlines have issued guidance for affected passengers.

It is also understand the certain unions represent airport workers are also taking industrial action on Monday. As such, there may be disruption to some airport ground services.

Please note that this page does not provide live flight information so any cancellations listed are proactive cancellations made in advance, and do not necessarily include any delays/cancellations made on the day.

You can check live flight information on the websites of Gatwick, Heathrow and London City airports.
Continue reading “Air Traffic Controllers strike in Italy on Monday 20 March 2017”

BA launches Milan from London City & Stansted from late April 2017

British Airways will fly to Milan Linate from London City & Stansted from late April 2017.

London Air Travel » Italy

The merry go round of route changes at London City and BA’s gradual increase of weekend services at London Stansted continues with the launch of new year-round services to Milan, Italy from these two London airports in April.

The new routes to Milan’s Linate Airport will start from London City Airport on Monday 24 April 2017 and from Stansted Airport on Saturday 29 April 2017.

There will be two flights a day on week days and one a day at weekends from London City and two a week from Stansted.

Flights will be operated using Embraer aircraft in a two class Club Europe business class and EuroTraveller economy configuration. Note that at some point in the summer, BA will introduce its Buy On Board “M&S On Board” catering service on these flights.

BA also flies to Milan Linate (as well as Malpensa airport) from London Heathrow up to six times a day and it is possible to “mix and match” flights if convenient.

The addition of this route at London Stansted means BA now serves nine routes at this airport: Berlin, Faro, Florence, Geneva, Ibiza, Malaga, Nice, and Palma.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

Here’s the initial timetable at launch:
Continue reading “BA launches Milan from London City & Stansted from late April 2017”