CLT not approved for US citizens flying back from Europe, American Airlines says
Following a presidential travel ban announced Wednesday, U.S. citizens flying back to the U.S. from one of 26 European countries must return to an approved airport starting midnight Friday — and Charlotte Douglas International Airport is not on that list.
American Airlines, the dominant carrier at the Charlotte airport, serves two cities in the affected area directly from CLT: Frankfurt and Munich, both in Germany, according to American.
The airline’s flights from CLT to Frankfurt and Munich will be canceled after Thursday night, American said in an update Thursday. Flights from Frankfurt and Munich to CLT will be canceled after operating Friday.
President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he will impose a 30-day ban on most Europeans entering the U.S., and Americans trying to return home will be subject to “enhanced” health screening in the wake of the continued spread of the new coronavirus, the Associated Press reported.
These countries are affected: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, according to American Airlines.
People flying with American Airlines to the U.S. will be asked if they have visited one of those countries, Iran or mainland China within the past 14 days, according to the airline. If the answer is yes, U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents must enter the U.S. through one of 11 approved airports.
People who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and have visited one of those countries will be denied permission to travel to the U.S., American said in a statement.
American Airlines said it will help approved travelers scheduled to return to the U.S. reroute their travel to one of the approved airports.
The approved airports are:
- Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
- Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)
- Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
- Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL)
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
- Washington-Dulles International Airport (IAD)
The airline did not decide which airports were approved, American said.
Passengers can call American Airlines Reservations at 800-433-7300 from inside the U.S., or +1 817-786-3818 or + 44 207-660-2300 from outside of the country for help. Long wait times to get through to American are expected.
Reducing flights
The airline had announced an earlier round of flight cuts Tuesday in response to a decreased demand for travel.
Other airlines also were reducing domestic and international flights, as demand cratered in the wake of concern over the novel coronavirus.
American said it planned to cut its domestic flights by 7.5% in April compared to the current schedule, and decrease its international flights by 10% for the summer peak. The summer cuts include a 55% reduction in trans-Pacific flights.
Those cuts included two routes from CLT. The airline said it would be suspending flights to Rome (FCO) and delaying the restart of seasonal flights to Barcelona (BCN), according to the airline’s statement. Both routes are scheduled to resume service June 4.
American Airlines celebrated the milestone of operating more than 700 daily flights out of CLT mid-February.
Mecklenburg County reported the first two cases people testing positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, in the area Thursday morning. One is a Mecklenburg County resident, according to the county.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 2:27 PM.
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