Alitalia to close Korean office due to financial trouble
Italy-based airline Alitalia will drop the Rome-Seoul route and close its Korean office this month due to financial difficulties. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
Alitalia, Italy's flagship carrier, has decided to close its Korean office at the end of this month amid financial difficulties aggravated by the outbreak of COVID-19, company officials in Seoul said Thursday.
Both Korea and Italy have seen a snowballing number of coronavirus infections in recent weeks, with each country having reported thousands of patients. This has led to fewer passengers on flights, making things worse for the already beleaguered air carrier that has been struggling financially for decades.
“Alitalia will drop the route from Rome to Seoul on March 10 permanently, and the Korean office will be closed at the end of March,” a Korean office official said.
The air carrier, which has operated the Rome-Seoul route four times a week, has notified passengers, who have already booked tickets, of the cancelation of the flights in an email, saying, “We apologize for the inconvenience.”
But passengers expressed complaints about the unilateral decision.
“Alitalia just sent me an email saying that my flight has been canceled, without any advance notice. I was frustrated,” said a 56-year-old customer who was planning to travel to Rome in June with her son. “I've already booked my hotel and tour programs there, many of which are non-refundable. Who's going to pay for that? I think Alitali should have provided alternative options for customers before just canceling our flights.”
Regarding the complaints, the company official said, “Passengers will receive a full refund without any additional fees. We are unable to arrange alternative flights as the office will be closed.”
Along with the Rome-Seoul route, the Italian airline also decided to drop the route from Rome to Santiago, Chile on March 29 in an effort to downsize its business.
According to the Corriere della Sera, an Italian daily newspaper, Alitalia was suffering a loss of 76,000 euros ($85,000) per day from these two routes alone.
Amid a spike in infections in both countries, air carriers in Korea have also decided to suspend flights to Italian cities.
Korean Air, the nation's top flag carrier, decided to suspend its services to Rome and Milan temporarily, while the second-largest carrier, Asiana Airlines, will also halt the Incheon-Rome route. Asiana has already suspended the Incheon-Venice route.
On Thursday, Korean Air said that it has begun checking temperatures of passengers seeking to take airplanes for all international routes from Incheon International Airport as a precaution against any further spread of the new coronavirus.
“We have secured eight thermal imaging cameras,” a Korean Air official said. “We will not allow passengers with fevers over 37.5 degrees Celsius to board our planes.”
Korean Air checks temperatures of passengers using a thermal imaging camera at Incheon International Airport as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19. / Courtesy of Korean Air