Several days ago President Trump announced a new travel ban for Europe. With this, non-Americans who have been in the Schengen area of Europe in the past 14 days can’t enter the US. Well, this is now being extended.
In this post:
Europe travel ban extended to UK & Ireland
As of midnight ET on Monday, the current Europe travel ban will be expanded to include the UK and Ireland. This means that non-Americans who have been to the Schengen area, or to the UK and Ireland, in the past 14 days, won’t be allowed to enter the US.
See this post for any question you may have about the technicalities, because there are quite a few details to be aware of.
What does this mean for airlines?
Airlines continue to be allowed to operate flights to & from Europe, but expect huge schedule reductions, since only Americans will be allowed to take those flights (and we could see reciprocity, so it’s possible no one will be able to take the flights).
Airlines have handled this in various ways. For example, Delta has announced they’re cutting all flights to continental Europe, while American and United are maintaining some flights to Europe.
Aid coming for the airline & cruise industry
It has also been announced that we can expect some aid for both the airline and cruise industry in the coming days. The government has already hinted at what aid could look like for airlines, as we may see airlines be allowed to keep the federal excise tax and/or passenger facility charge for some amount of time.
Domestic travel restrictions may be next
Given that some parts of the US are experiencing more cases of coronavirus than others, it’s also possible that domestic travel restrictions could be added, similar to the current international ones.
Trump was asked whether the ban could be expanded to certain domestic flights, and he said that they are working on that, and that they are considering adding restrictions on flights within the US as well. California and Washington have been thrown out as possibilities.
Bottom line
Ugh…
Pete,
No but not sure the admin listens to DR Fauci.
But given trump's history of promoting his properties, making Pence and the military stay at his properties, charging security excess amounts, staying while commuting to France for DDay celebrations etc it is not out of the question to wonder about his motives. The man visits his properties on avg every 3-4 days a year and charges secret service others food, bev, golf cart, accommodation...
Pete,
No but not sure the admin listens to DR Fauci.
But given trump's history of promoting his properties, making Pence and the military stay at his properties, charging security excess amounts, staying while commuting to France for DDay celebrations etc it is not out of the question to wonder about his motives. The man visits his properties on avg every 3-4 days a year and charges secret service others food, bev, golf cart, accommodation etc to the tube of millions. Maybe there isn't anything to it but with his history I can understand the suspicion sadly.
. . . plus a Qantas crew member flying but not on duty has been diagnosed. Story here: https://www.2paxfly.com/2020/03/15/covid-19-self-isolate-for-visitors-to-australia-from-midnight-15-march-2020-qantas-crew-member-with-covid-19/
. . . and Australia has just enacted 14 day self-isolation for all incoming passengers as of midnight Sunday 15 AEST.
Essentially, the only Airlines which can operate from USA to Europe with the right to carry nationals from the both side:
AEROFLOT
Add Australia to this list, effectively, as the Australian government has announced that all international arrivals ( including citizens) will be required to self-isolate for 14 days, effective midnight tonight ( 7 hours from now). This effectively closes the border to visitors, similar to what NZ did yesterday.
I would anticipate that airline schedules will be severely affected in the next few days/weeks.
Do people really believe Dr. Fauci is recommending travel restrictions based on the location of Trump properties? I can't tell if people are just blowing off steam, or really think these types of conspiracy theories are true.
A lot of the comments here are so absurd. Trump’s name is an absolute trigger point for some people. They will get so emotional as soon as his name pop up. I still remember similar comments early last month when US announced the very first flight ban for foreigners from China. That ban bought us some time in this pandemic. But people still criticized it anyway. Unfortunately EU countries didn’t all follow US’s ban back...
A lot of the comments here are so absurd. Trump’s name is an absolute trigger point for some people. They will get so emotional as soon as his name pop up. I still remember similar comments early last month when US announced the very first flight ban for foreigners from China. That ban bought us some time in this pandemic. But people still criticized it anyway. Unfortunately EU countries didn’t all follow US’s ban back then. And US can’t simply ban all EU countries back then since they are our close allies, which eventually leads us to community spread stage. Yes, most numbers later will be driven by local infections. But, that doesn’t mean flight restriction from current virus hot spot is no longer necessary. Your resource is limited and you will need to deploy them all to deal with domestic patients when the number rising exponentially. Sorry but this is a pandemic. Lower the population density on the street is the key to slow down its spreading speed. If everyone in US can just all stay at home, minimize the travel, and wear N95 mask appropriately when they have to get out, we can overcome this as soon as one to two months.
ChuckMO,
As a serious golfer I never visited a trump property even before the debacle of his winning the White House. I just never liked him. Some others were in my camp. Today, many people I know will never visit his courses going forward. It is astonishing honestly. He is very disliked and most of the people I know not only are disgusted by his actions/personality etc but are actually voting with their pocket books....
ChuckMO,
As a serious golfer I never visited a trump property even before the debacle of his winning the White House. I just never liked him. Some others were in my camp. Today, many people I know will never visit his courses going forward. It is astonishing honestly. He is very disliked and most of the people I know not only are disgusted by his actions/personality etc but are actually voting with their pocket books. I loved Turnberry but until he loses it in bankruptcy I will never visit again. I suspect in 5 years I will be able to. He is running the USA into bankruptcy and suspect his current businesses will follow as well (as have many of his past businesses). The emperor has no clothes (and it is not a pretty sight).
@ Victoria,
Why would you want to leave? Good and Free healthcare vs fragmented and extortionate healthcare.
The UK is strongly considering herd immunity (not doing a damn thing about the virus). Need to shut them off ASAP.
Victoria — US citizens are allowed to travel/return, regardless of residence. Just limited as to ports of entry (and by flight availability, obviously).
As a legal matter, the President has great power to restrict entry of non-citizens and non-permanent residents. But the Constitutional power to deny entry to a citizen or permanent resident is extremely limited.
Some of these comments are truly absurd. Every country interested in containing or mitigating the spread of coronavirus should be banning or strictly regulating international travel. One can reasonably argue that the US should have done it sooner re Europe (which WHO confirms is the current hot spot). But that’s no reason not to do it now. Ask any epidemiologist— reducing the risk of imported cases is a key part of slowing or mitigating the...
Some of these comments are truly absurd. Every country interested in containing or mitigating the spread of coronavirus should be banning or strictly regulating international travel. One can reasonably argue that the US should have done it sooner re Europe (which WHO confirms is the current hot spot). But that’s no reason not to do it now. Ask any epidemiologist— reducing the risk of imported cases is a key part of slowing or mitigating the spread of the disease. It’s not a golden ticket — domestic community spread will be a much bigger driver over the next few weeks — but it unquestionably lessens the number of cases.
Any aide to the airlines should have an aggressive Passengers Bill of Rights attached. EU241-type compensations includes.
My whole family is dual UK/US citizenship....but reside in London.
IF the U.S. is not their legal residence will they be denied entry? Even with a U.S. passport?
This is all too late. If Trump had implemented travel bans a few weeks ago it might've worked a bit. But the fact is the virus is already spreading within the US. So this seems like nothing more than political spin. When Coronavirus is running rampant through the US, Trump can pin the blame on Europeans like me. It serves as nothing more than a way of further pushing his goals of American isolationism. It's...
This is all too late. If Trump had implemented travel bans a few weeks ago it might've worked a bit. But the fact is the virus is already spreading within the US. So this seems like nothing more than political spin. When Coronavirus is running rampant through the US, Trump can pin the blame on Europeans like me. It serves as nothing more than a way of further pushing his goals of American isolationism. It's a proper staple of Trump, pin the blame on friends and allies of the US. He's made an absolute dogs dinner of Coronavirus.
@CreditCrunch’s post is crucial info to get out more widely. I just landed in DEN on a BA flight from LHR. About 30% of US citizens and PRs were offloaded from the flight right before departure due to being flagged for being in a Schengen country in the past 14 days. They all were going to have to fly on BA or AA through one of the approved airports instead. That obviously extends to UK & Ireland beyond tomorrow.
@Endre
So what do you suggest other countries do? I know China sent Doctors, Nurses, medical equipment, supplies, etc to Italy to help them get the virus under control.
This should be a wake-up call for China, clean up their act or feel the consequences. It's madness. I read an article in the Washington Post about the Pond Lilly Effect. Makes so much sense but you realise that what is occurring now in the...
@Endre
So what do you suggest other countries do? I know China sent Doctors, Nurses, medical equipment, supplies, etc to Italy to help them get the virus under control.
This should be a wake-up call for China, clean up their act or feel the consequences. It's madness. I read an article in the Washington Post about the Pond Lilly Effect. Makes so much sense but you realise that what is occurring now in the USA is just the tip of the iceberg. Things are going to get 1000 times worse. Self-isolation is the key.
@Joshua, well that's what they want - no government involvement. It goes both ways and is a chance for them to lead by example! Any potential assistance should be used exclusively to keep people employed and paid, along with the government receiving a proportional stake in the company. Not like last time when the airlines got billions in handouts and then went "bankrupt" taking employees' pensions with them.
I can't wait to see the smile on Greta's face. How dare us.
Air Canada and the European airlines are flying all their services Europe to Canada with exceptions of non stops to Italy. Some North Americans have common sense. Apparently not in the White House
Perhaps Trump decided to include Ireland and the UK after certain media outlets pointed out that he has golf properties there and it was an obvious money grab. Not that those properties are doing well regardless.
@Mr G
Closing the barn door a month after the horse bolted is a good metaphor. And yes - trump - the “it’s all a hoax” person who decimated the CDC just after taking office.
Not sure where you are - looks like the UK - but they have a far better healthcare system in place for dealing with this than the US.
As for the conspiracy theory that the Chinese weaponised this - don’t even go there.
Im just dumbfounded that Noone is screaming about China. When was the last time when people were not allowed to interact, forced to stay inside and people were dying all around the globe due to another nation? I beleive it was around early 1940's
Just when I think humans can't get any dumber, we get this. It would be interesting to see how much mockery is heaped on us from future generations.
The US will only allow passengers to enter these airports from the EU with the current restrictions in place;
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York;
Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Illinois;
San Francisco International Airport (SFO), California;
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Washington;
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Hawaii;
Los Angeles International Airport, (LAX), California;
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Georgia;
Washington-Dulles International Airport (IAD), Virginia;
The US will only allow passengers to enter these airports from the EU with the current restrictions in place;
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York;
Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Illinois;
San Francisco International Airport (SFO), California;
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Washington;
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Hawaii;
Los Angeles International Airport, (LAX), California;
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Georgia;
Washington-Dulles International Airport (IAD), Virginia;
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), New Jersey;
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Texas;
Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW), Michigan;
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Massachusetts;
Miami International Airport (MIA), Florida.
What we need is 1/2 the federal tax rate and removal of sales, state, payroll and medicare tax immediately to slow down the spread of the virus and preventing an economic and mental depression.
On March 21 booked on BA LHR SFO. Cannot go earlier as my cruise ship does not get into CPT till March 20
Spain and France have also announced lockdown, similar to Italy: all restaurants/coffee shops/bars/retails stores are closed. Only banks, grocery stores, pharmacies will stay open.
Ben
The agent may have been talking about BA flights to your city. It seems clear that BA service to many US cities will be suspended.
But I've seen nothing to indicate that BA will stop flying to the busiest cities i.e. JFK, BOS, SFO, ATL etc. While its partner AA will surely still fly to ORD, DFW, LAX, MIA, PHL if only just one fight a day.
Flights should also still be possible via Toronto on Air Canada and other airlines.
@Kevin I agree with what you said about the market. Constantly tweeting for the Fed to lower interest rates is insane. The Europeans are doing a damn bit more than the US is doing right now. Well apart from my own country Britain but then again look at who we have in charge. Italy unfortunately was slow to realize the full effect of this virus.
@Mr G so you disagree with Trump blaming Europeans for the spread? If he wanted to protect citizens he would've took action long ago, but he was too obsessed with the numbers and the market.
The shortest and most effective and creative bottom line ever XD
I thought the UK had very strong borders.
@Tom
I’m just reporting what the phone agent said to me over the phone when I was trying to change my flights to tomorrow. I would certainly be frustrated if they gave me wrong information as I’ve just spent £1k on another flight....
Ben
BA are NOT cancelling all flights from tomorrow.
They will surely be cancelling all flights to US airports that do not have health screening capability.
Dual UK/US citizen here. Flying home to the UK tomorrow for a funeral.
I work from home. I guess I’ll take my work laptop with me then.
F trump.
I can see the U.K. offering a similar “rescue package” to UK carriers that Flybe secured with a deferment of the APD taxes for 3 months extendable of course as this scenario plays out.
Dennis yeah and have thousands of people lose their jobs because of something that is not the airlines fault. Great idea!
Relief needs to be targeted to affected workers FIRST then relief for all workers and possibly industries after.
NO government help for the US airlines (and any other non-government owned airlines). They spurn state involvement during times of high profits, so they can live (and die) by that course.
The bottom line is us all tbh, I hope the EU push for similar measures with US flights coming into Europe.
Truly incredible times. I sympathize for all those infected or caught in the restrictions, but the scenario is absolutely fascinating
What is the point of using 7.5% excise tax or PFC as a relief for airlines if they are pretty much going to ban nearly all flights over the next 30-60 days. Airlines will face a cash flow crunch (outflow will exceed inflow significantly) as they won’t be able to sell enough flights in the short term to benefit from this relief.
I tried to change my flight from Thursday to tomorrow and BA wouldn’t let me rebook as they are cancelling all flights to the US from tomorrow.
Lol the bottom line