An air cargo of wealthy Americans was denied entry to Italy after trying to sneak into the country for a vacation on a private plane.
Travelers from the US are banned from entering the European Union for at least another two weeks after an increase in coronavirus cases in some reopened states, European officials announced last week.
There were 10 people on board, five of whom were Americans, when the plane that had flown in from Colorado was stopped by customs officials at Elmas airport in Cagliari, Italy, according to reports. While the Americans were told they must be “repatriated” immediately, the other passengers, from Italy, New Zealand and England, were offered to stay after a mandatory two-week quarantine. All the passengers left “out of solidarity,” according to the Wanted in Rome site.
“The Sardinian region has no responsibility for what happened,” Sardinian Governor Christian Solinas told the news site. “Immediately, with the collaboration of the airport management company, we got to work, initiating urgent talks with the government, the Ministry and the Prefect, to find a solution that would allow American passengers to remain in Sardinia, even undergoing quarantine. . … The government’s unique restrictive interpretation of the rules, contrary to our ability to guarantee health safety, in this case has once again inflicted serious damage on the credibility of international tourism on our island and our sense of hospitality ” .
This is not the first time that wealthy people try to ignore the rules. In April, a private international jet set plane was sent home after circumventing quarantine rules and secretly flying to southern France for a vacation.
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