Government extends ban on flights to and from Italy until May 6th

  • ECO News
  • 22 April 2020

The new statute extending the suspension of air links with Italy came into force at midnight on Wednesday.

Flights to and from Italy have again been suspended by the Government, which considers that ‘the Pandemic situation’ in that country ‘remains intense’ and therefore ‘the reasons behind the suspension’ persist. The extension took effect at midnight on Wednesday and should last for 14 days, that is, until May 6th.

The ban involves “all flights by all airlines, commercial or private, from or to Italy, to or from Portuguese airports or aerodromes,” according to an order published in the Diário da República. Flights by State aircraft, flights for the exclusive transport of cargo and mail” and flights “of a humanitarian or medical emergency nature and technical stopovers for non-commercial purposes” are excluded.

This is not the first time that the Government has extended this suspension of flights to and from Italy, which was initially implemented on March 10th and extended on 24th. The successive extensions have taken place at a time when the Pandemic continues to gain ground in Europe, with Italy being one of the most affected countries, especially in the northern region. Worldwide, the coronavirus has already infected 2.6 million people, 184,000 in Italy.