Italy Travel: This Is Why It Should Soon Be Possible For All Tourists
by Tamara Thiessen
So Italy’s borders are reopening on June 3 for travel, but only to European tourists at the outset. International visitors must wait for a later date to pack their bags for Italy. That could be soon. “At the moment the European borders remain closed until June 15, but it is very likely that after that it will be possible to arrive in Italy from non-European countries too,” says Italian tourism sales expert, Giulio Gambardella. “Italy wishes that, as soon as the EU borders reopen.
“Italian tourist destinations are already in the reopening phase, starting with local customers. But hotels, restaurants and museums will be ready to welcome tourists over the next few days,” Gambardella says.
The lack of clarity on border reopenings makes it impossible for those wanting to plan trips soon. Freda Weitzer is a 37-year-old physiotherapist from the San Francisco Bay Area. She’s been visiting Italy and studying Italian since she was a teenager, and “is absolutely mad for the country and the language.”
Weitzer wants to reunite with her Italian partner as soon as possible. “Come June 15 ideally”. On one side of the Atlantic or the other. “One of the hardest parts of this is that both here from the U.S. government and in Italy (for Italians let alone foreigners), the rules are announced as they are implemented. So we don't know much of anything in advance,” she says.
“Likewise trying to figure out what quarantines will apply and how the governments will enforce them ... There is next to no information on when things might change and what the rules will be at that time.”
Maybe answering some of her questions will help clarify, where possible, the situation for others.
“Italy Reopens Borders June 3 With So Many Limits”
This is a headline from the Corriera della Sera. “The Italian borders will reopen to all citizens of the Schengen area without exceptions, without quarantine, and without self-certification.” So there you have it: No quarantine in Italy from June 3, no negative corona tests required.
The hitch? Non-EU visitors must wait until Europe’s external borders reopen, after a 3 month stop on most foreign arrivals.
When Italy does open to international tourists, will it filter out those from high-risk countries such as the U.S? Giulio Gambardella suggests so: “Much will depend not only on the trend of the epidemic in Italy, but above all in the countries of origin.” Those coming from places with high Covid-19 infection levels may have to wait longer–or undergo tougher screening.
Spain hasn’t indicated any such intention when it opens its borders to all foreigners in July. Earlier in May, Italy was saying no to European visitors “before July or August”. That’s been seriously throttled up. So the arrival date for international tourists may be too, as Italy seeks to salvage the summer vacation season. “It’s very variable at the moment,” says Gambardella, “because all decisions will be taken looking at data, and this could change from one week to the next.”
Once Weitzer lands in Italy, she can expect to encounter officials in wearable thermal scanners. Rome’s Fiumicino airport was the first in Europe to adopt “smart helmets” to screen temperatures of arriving passengers.
And On Returning From Italy To The U.S?
There are 13 “funnel airports” in the U.S. where Americans returning from Europe (including the U.K.) must land. In theory to face beefed up screening on arrival. Though many passengers say they have not. If those rules are still in place, Weitzer could land back at SFO, which is among them. Others are New York’s JFK, Chicago’s O’Hare, LA’s LAX, and international airports in Atlanta, Washington, Newark, Dallas, Texas, Boston, Massachusetts, Miami and Hawaii.
She will not face quarantine in the U.S. No one ever did. Though people are strongly advised to “stay home and monitor their health for 14 days.”
Next to scenario B: What if instead Weitzer’s partner comes to the U.S. from Italy? These are things to consider:
US Travel Ban On Europe Arrivals Continues Indefinitely
On the same day that Italy’s borders reopen to European tourists, travel freedom returns for Italians. They can move in and out of the country as they please. But only to countries that are open to them. The U.S. is not.
There’s still no end in sight to the US travel ban. As the Italian Embassy in Washington notes, it means a block “until further notice” on travelers who in the previous fortnight have been in 26 European countries “including Italy”.
Interestingly, the idea was to prevent travelers coming into the U.S. from Covid-19 hot spots. Which Italy was at the time. But now America is.
When will rules change in the transatlantic lovers’ favor? And that of other Europeans hoping to visit the States? Unfortunately I don’t have a crystal ball. It’s far more likely Weitzer will get to visit Italy first. Meantime she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place: The U.S. and Italy.
What Airlines Are Flying US-Italy Routes?
FlightRadar24 still shows very little action in the Italian skies or around major airports in Milan and Rome. That’s set to change as many airlines reconnect countries and continents in time for Europe’s summer. Only passengers with “essential” travel reasons can fly until EU borders reopen.
Alitalia has announced it will resume direct flights from New York JFK to Rome–Fiumicino from June 2. Lufthansa looks like a good possibility for U.S.-Europe trips by mid-June. It’s flying to Rome and Milan via Frankfurt. Delta too is flying to Rome (in code-share), with stops in Atlanta and Frankfurt. United Airlines fly New York-Milan from June 3.
British Airways could be a great choice for a nonstop flight from San Fran to London, then onto Rome. Likewise for many Europe trips from several U.S. airports, as it ramps up flights in June. BA is not flying the Rome leg yet, but will be soon. Transit passengers are exempt from the U.K. quarantine measures.
From elsewhere in the world, Qatar will resume Rome flights in late June. Emirates to Milan from June 4. Fares are generally exorbitant for early in the month, but ease in the latter half. Perhaps as borders loosen and competition stiffens.