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As more and more countries have reopened their borders to travel, airlines are adding back some of the long international flights they paused more than a year ago. And now Delta has its sights firmly set on Italy – with a green light from the Italian government that travelers can get in starting next week.
Days ahead of Italy’s initial plans to welcome back travelers, the Atlanta-based airline announced it would add more daily flights to popular destinations like Rome and Milan throughout the summer. Delta will increase some of its existing flights from New York City (JFK) and Atlanta (ATL) while bringing back nonstop flights to Venice (VCE) and resuming flights from Boston (BOS) to Rome (FCO).
Here’s a look at what Delta has planned:
- Delta is already flying daily from New York City (JFK) to Milan (MXP)
- The existing flights three times a week from New York City (JFK) to Rome (FCO) will start flying daily on July 1.Advertisement
- Atlanta (ATL) to Rome (FCO) flights already flying five days a week will fly daily as of May 26.
- Delta will restart flights from New York City (JFK) to Venice (VCE) on July 2.
- Flights from Atlanta (ATL) to Venice (VCE) are set to resume Aug. 6.
- Finally, Delta will bring back Boston (BOS) to Rome (FCO) service on Aug. 6 as well.
To pull it off, Delta is expanding the “quarantine-free” flights to Europe it pioneered last year for essential travelers (like health care workers, official business or government work), allowing them to bypass quarantine requirements. Now, all American travelers and vacationers making their way to Italy will be eligible. Passengers on any Italy-bound Delta flight will be required to test negative before departure and upon arrival. Vaccinated travelers are not exempt from testing requirements.
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The Italian government has signed off on those flights, allowing all Americans flying Delta to enter and bypass quarantine requirements starting this Sunday, a Delta spokesman confirmed. Sunday is also when the Italian government plans to open up to COVID-19 negative travelers from the rest of the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Israel, according to Reuters.
“Delta was the first U.S. airline to launch quarantine-free service to Italy and our COVID-tested flights have proved a viable means to restart international travel safely,” said Alain Bellemare, Delta’s executive vice president of international. “It is encouraging that the Italian government has taken this step forward to reopen the country to leisure travelers from the U.S. on our dedicated protocol flights and further supporting economic recovery from the global pandemic.”
It’s a rapid turnaround, coming just weeks after Italian officials vowed to open to travelers by mid-May. Those COVID-19 testing requirements will eventually be replaced by the European Union’s broader plans for a vaccine passport system.
But things are far from normal in Italy today. A nationwide curfew remains in place from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily. There are some travel restrictions in Sicily, Sardegna, and the Valle D’Aosta regions. Restaurants can only seat people outside until June 1, when indoor dining can resume but only until 6 p.m. Shops, restaurants, museums, and other tourist sites all have strict capacity limits.
Still, it’s clear Americans are eager to travel abroad to anywhere that will accept them. As countries across Europe and elsewhere signaled their reopening plans, searches for flights have taken off.
And that’s the renewed interest Delta is capitalizing on. Repeatedly.
As Iceland became the first country in Europe to reopen, Delta restarted flights from New York City to Reykjavik (KEF). Flights from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Iceland’s capital city will resume later this month, along with a brand new route to Iceland from Boston (BOS).
When Greece opened its doors to travelers in April with proof of vaccination or a recent COVID-19 test, Delta announced it would bring back daily flights from New York to Athens (ATH) along with a new route from its Atlanta (ATL) megahub to the Greek capital.
Just last week, Delta announced it would start its first nonstop flight to Dubrovnik (DBV). Croatia reopened earlier this spring to travelers with proof of vaccination, a recent negative COVID-19 test, or recovery from COVID-19.
This is a breaking news story, check back for more updates.
