Passengers travelling to or from Italy by air will no longer be able to use the overhead baggage lockers in planes after the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (Enac) decided they were a health risk.
The new rule results from a government decree, prompted by fears of further spreading the novel coronavirus, that specifies travellers may only board with a bag small enough to slide under the seat in front.
The intention is to prevent close contact between passengers and limit movement in aircraft cabins.
Enac said that passengers would not need to pay a supplement to put their suitcases in the hold.
An Italian consumer association, Codacons, welcomed the decision on Friday, saying it would “avoid the chaos” which sometimes occurs in the cabins “when passengers place their luggage in the overhead compartments”.
“In this area, the Italians are among the most unruly travellers in Europe, causing delays and queues which today would fuel the risk of contagion,” the association said.
Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha
Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers.
She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay.
She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos.
As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender.
She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies.
Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the
prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category.
She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category.
She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations.
Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.
