KLM scraps flights to Venice, Milan, Naples as Covid-19 issues persist

Due to coronavirus Covid-19, KLM is canceling all its flights to Venice, Milan and Naples in Italy until at least April 3rd, the Dutch airline announced on Wednesday. Earlier this week, KLM said it was canceling some 25 percent of its flights to the southern European country. KLM flights to other Italian destinations are still running according to schedule, RTL Nieuws reports.

Other airlines also canceled flights to Italy. Transavia is not flying to its destinations in northern Italy until March 31st. And Ryanair announced the cancelation of its flights to Italy until April 8th on Tuesday. Alitalia and EasyJet, have all recently canceled flights from Amsterdam to Italy. KLM is currently also not flying to various of its destinations in China.

After China, Italy is the country most affected by the coronavirus. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs updated its travel advice for the country on Tuesday, warning Dutch travelers to only visit Italy if absolutely necessary and to avoid areas in northern Italy altogether.

Whether caused by canceled flights, travel restrictions, or even just fewer people traveling in general, Schiphol Airport has been extremely quiet at periods when passengers expected it to be busier. On Tuesday just as the business day was ending, the D Concourse in Departures 1 was like a ghost town. It made one passenger wonder if this was a signal the Dutch response could become stricter.

"Scary, I really had goosebumps," Federico Barrios, an Amsterdam resident about to board a flight abroad, said to NL Times. "Also if there’s the possibility for the country to be in quarantine, maybe they won’t let me come back?”