As of today, March 9, 2020, Alitalia suspends all flights at Milan Malpensa International Airport. In addition to this decision, I should mention that Alitalia will greatly diminish the operational program from other airports in northern Italy. From Milan Malpensa Airport, Alitalia will protect only a few domestic flights.
This decision comes after the Italian government closed the Lombardy region, which also includes Milan, because of the Coronavirus outbreak. In the current context, more and more specialists are wondering if Alitalia will manage to cope with the current crisis. We remind you that Alitalia has been struggling for a while to survive, occasionally with the support of the Italian government. The European Commission is investigating Italy's EUR 400 million loan to Alitalia.
Alitalia suspended flights to Milan Malpensa
Returning to the situation in Milan, many airlines have reduced or suspended flights to destinations in northern Italy. These include: Milan, Venice, Treviso, Bologna, Florence, Turin. Between March 9 and March 23, all flights on the routes Italy - Romania were suspended. Some governments have introduced travel restrictions for countries affected by the new Coronavirus epidemic, such as Italy.
The carriers, which have completely suspended their services from Milan, are: American Airlines, Delta, Scandinavian SAS, Turkish Airlines and Singapore Airlines. And the list gets bigger.
The new coronavirus (covid-19) will leave deep wounds in the economies of many airlines. Civil aviation is facing a dramatic drop in sales of air tickets, even in areas not affected by the new virus. Lufthansa Group plans to reduce the operational program by up to 50%.