Turkish travelers denied entry to Italy due to virus restrictions

ROME

Italy has denied entry to three Turkish citizens due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions.

The Turkish nationals, who traveled from Istanbul to Rome, on Dec. 2 were briefly detained at the airport and eventually sent back to Turkey later in the day.

“I arrived in Rome with two friends. Italian authorities told us that they would not allow people coming from Turkey to enter the country because of the coronavirus. We were not aware of that [restriction],” said Tahir Sarıkaya, a presenter on Turkish private broadcaster Beyaz TV.

He added that they were not warned or informed about the travel restrictions in Italy when they purchased the plane tickets. “One of my friends is also a national of an EU member state. He was also denied entry. They told him he should either go under quarantine for 10 days or go back to Turkey. Russian travelers who were on the same flight with us from Istanbul were also not allowed to enter Italy,” Sarıkaya said.

The Italian authorities reimbursed them for the tickets, he added.

According to the list Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) prepared as of Dec. 1 for travel requirements, Italy is denying entry to passengers traveling from Turkey for touristic purposes.

This restriction is expected to remain in place until Dec. 15.

However, Turkish tourists still can travel to several European countries, including Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

Yet, people from the tourism industry are warning that travelers need to check entry requirements as such requirements can change very quickly.