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Alitalia issuing restrictive coronavirus waivers, says #dontstopflying despite travel advisories

March 07, 2020
2 min read
Alitalia issuing restrictive coronavirus waivers, says #dontstopflying despite travel advisories
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Alitalia isn't doing much to endear itself to passengers these days.

Italy has been a coronavirus hot spot in Europe, but the Italian flag carrier is being relatively inflexible when it comes to letting travelers rebook their tickets.

The airline will let passengers traveling to airports in Northern Italy whose original travel dates were between Feb. 23 and March 8 rebook their tickets, so long as the new travel begins by March 31, according to Alitalia's website. That means if you're planning a vacation in Italy, your trip is only covered if your departure is sometime this weekend.

The CDC has issued a Level 3 warning to avoid nonessential travel to Italy, as well as China, Iran and South Korea.

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Passengers to and from the U.S. and a few other countries can also reroute their trips to other destinations the airline serves.

In comparison, many U.S. airlines have issued wide-ranging waivers that allow passengers much more flexibility to rebook their travel, even if their destination hasn't had any identified cases of coronavirus. (Though, even those waivers exclude some existing itineraries.)

Related: The most up-to-date information on U.S. airlines' coronavirus waivers, cuts and suspensions.

In an interview with TPG on March 4, Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research suggested that airlines are choosing the wrong tactic if they opt for a hard-line approach to rebooking policies amid coronavirus fears, as Alitalia has.

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“People are scared, they’re scared to travel, and airlines need to show compassion and humanity to travelers during this very unusual period," he said. Harteveldt added such compassion is especially important these days, "in the age of social media when anyone can vent their rage."

Related: Everything you need to know about traveling during the coronavirus outbreak.

As if to prove his point, Alitalia's Facebook page is practically a case study in online rage-venting.

A video the airline posted March 2 with the caption "Are you sure you want to miss out on all of this? #dontstopflying" has more than 300 comments (including replies), many of which come from irritated customers struggling to rebook their tickets.

Featured image by Alberto Riva

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Build your loyalty to Delta by applying for the carrier's mid-tier card option, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card. The annual fee is quickly recouped by the card's travel perks, such as an application credit to Global Entry or TSA Precheck, annual companion certificate and so much more. Plus you can fast-track to elite status simply through card spend.

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  • Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
  • Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
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  • New: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
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  • Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
  • Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
  • Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
  • Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • $250 Annual Fee.
  • Terms Apply.
  • See Rates & Fees