American vacationers were denied entry to Sardinia according to the new EU rules

(CNN) – Five Americans flying a private plane to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia were rejected on Wednesday in Italy due to new travel restrictions in the EU with countries with a high rate of coronavirus infection, police told CNN.

A private plane – which took off from Colorado with 11 potential tourists on board – arrived at Cagliari Airport on Wednesday morning, according to a Cagliari police spokesman.

Earlier this week, the European Union officially agreed on a set of recommendations allowing travelers outside the block to visit EU countries. However, the United States was not on the list of 14 countries, whose current rate of Covid-19 infection does not meet the criteria set by the EU to be considered a “safe country”.

Five U.S. citizens traveled with friends from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. There were also three children on board.

Italian authorities tried to “find a solution” for U.S. travelers, a police spokesman said, but there was no way the new regulation would take effect on Tuesday.

After about 2pm in the field, the whole group decided to leave Cagliari on their plane the same day and headed for Birmingham, England, police said.

It was unclear whether passengers planned to disembark in the United Kingdom. The UK requires passengers in the US to be quarantined for 14 days.