The government of Kosovo has cancelled flights to and from northern Italy following the Italian government’s decision on Saturday to restrict movement in the Lombardy region and 14 other provinces.
Minister of Infrastructure Lumir Abdixhiku announced his decision today:
“Today, at 12:40 pm, we received an emergency recommendation from the National Institute of Health to cancel all flights coming from the epidemic zones of Northern Italy – as a reaction to the quarantine imposed by the Italian government in the battle against coronavirus.
Consequently, I have requested the temporary cancellation of all flights coming from this epidemic area designated as high risk area. Flights to and from northern Italy have been halted.”
As a result, a Pristina-Verona flight was cancelled today.
The death toll in Italy reached 233 yesterday, and the number of those infected with coronavirus was estimated to be 5,883.
Yesterday, the Italian government announced drastic measures in the northern part of the country, placing up to 16 million people under quarantine. Those who want to travel from and to Lombardy region, which includes Milan, and 14 other provinces will need permission by authorities.
Kosovo, Albania, and Montenegro are the only countries in the region with no reported cases of coronavirus.
Today, three operators continued flights from Tirana to Italy, while Air Albania cancelled three flights “due to operational issues”.
