The Easter holiday plans of millions of Brits have been thrown into chaos as the killer coronavirus grips Europe.
Cases have been recorded in Austria, Spain, Greece and France, as well as a host of European countries – while Italy has been particularly ravaged, with nearly 400 infected and 12 dead.
Holidaymakers have been left in a panic over the spread of the virus, with many reluctant to go ahead with their bookings.
British Airways is now offering a change of date to passengers heading to northern Italy in the next week.
They will be able to rebook their flights to any date up till March 31.
The airline also announced it is ‘merging’ some of its flights between Heathrow and the Italian city’s Linate airport.
Around 22 return flights over the next two weeks are affected.
The rebooking applies to passengers heading to Milan, Turin, Bologna, Venice, Bergamo and Verona.
A group of tourists wear protective face masks while walking through Milan’s city centre
The Foreign Office says it is still safe to travel to countries in Europe hit by the virus, with only travel to 10 small towns in Lombardy, Italy and one in Veneto restricted.
This means that Brits will not be refunded if they cancel their holidays to several destinations.
A British Airways spokesperson told Mail Online: ‘We continue to operate to and from Italy, and are monitoring the situation closely.
‘There is no change to travel advice to airlines, however, like all carriers we will continue to liaise closely with government and global health authority advice.
‘Safety is at the heart of everything we do.’
It later on added that it was taking precautionary measures due to the outbreak.
‘To match reduced demand due to the continuing coronavirus issue, we are merging a small number of flights to and from Milan.
‘We will be contacting customers on cancelled flights so we can discuss their travel options including alternative British Airways flights within two hours of their original departure time where possible, full refunds or booking for a later date of travel.
‘We understand that some customers flying to/from northern Italy may wish to change their travel plans and have introduced flexible booking options.’
It comes after passengers have hit out at BA, Ryanair and easyJet for refusing to refund flights to Italy.
British Airways is now offering Brits the chance to rebook flights that are headed to northern Italy this week
People due to fly to the country with the carriers this week were left furious after being told they cannot get a refund and will have to pay to change their flights as routes are ‘operating as normal’.
BA has now changed its advice.
Several passengers took to Twitter to share their confusion and anger.
One said: ‘I’ve cancelled my flight to Venice because when I get there I’ll be greeted with a mask and temperature check when I arrive off the plane.’
Travellers at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands wear face masks amid growing coronavirus fears
Revellers wear masks to protect themselves from COVID-19 as they attend the Nice carnival in the french riviera city
A man wears a face mask as he walks along a street in Barcelona, Spain, which yesterday recorded its first case on the mainland
More than 81,000 cases of the COVID-19 – the disease caused by the coronavirus – have been recorded across the world, with the death toll nearing 2,800
Another said: ‘Help me out peeps. We’ve got our holiday booked to travel to Venice in two weeks and Italy seems to be riddled with Corona Virus. Holiday only cost about £350 for all of us but the company won’t give us any money back unless the foreign office put travel restrictions on.’
While a third commented: ‘We have booked Florence for Easter so we have a dilemma about whether to cancel or not..currently there is no government advice against travel there so our insurance would not pay out if we cancel but affected areas are not that far to the north.’
Meanwhile, airline Jet2 has confirmed it will transfer passengers booked to head to a hotel in Tenerife affected by the coronavirus.
Hundreds of guests will be locked in the H10 Costa Adeje Palace for 14 days to stop the spread of coronavirus, Spanish authorities confirmed today.
The trapped tourists include around 160 Britons – with authorities now hunting for others who returned to the UK before the doors were locked.
Guests were sunbathing in masks and enjoying free supplies of food and alcohol at the hotel poolside this afternoon after learning they would be staying well into March.
A Jet2 spokeswoman told Mail Online: ‘Following the reports that a non-Jet2holidays customer staying at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife has tested positive for coronavirus, the hotel continues to be placed under quarantine following advice from the Regional and the Spanish Government Authorities.
Sunbathing in masks: Tourists lounge by the pool of H10 Costa Adeje Palace as they settle in for a two-week lockdown after Spanish authorities confirmed a quarantine
Since cases of the COVID-19 illness soared in Italy over the weekend they have spread around Europe, with mainland Spain, Switzerland, Austria and Croatia today all declaring their first infected patients
Guests wearing masks lie on sun loungers and walk by the poolside at the Tenerife hotel today
The hotel laid on free champagne for tourists today after guests were told they would have to stay put at the resort until mid-March
‘We can confirm that around 100 Jet2holidays customers are staying in the hotel, and we are contacting them to check on their well-being and offer designated 24/7 telephone assistance.
‘We have stopped all sales to the hotel, and customers who are due to travel to the hotel will be transferred to other accommodation. We are also contacting customers who have recently stayed at the hotel to refer them to advice from the UK government.
‘We always follow the travel advice of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), and their guidance shows that there are no travel restrictions in place to any of our destinations, so our flying programme remains unchanged.
‘The health and safety of our customers is our absolute priority, and we will continue to release more information as it becomes available.’