An American Airlines passenger jet (Boeing 737) lands at LaGuardia Airport in New York, New York.
Robert Alexander | Archive Photos | Getty Images
American Airlines on Sunday slashed service to just 13 flights from the three main airports serving New York City, as the region, a coronavirus hotspot, grows more isolated.
“As coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in New York City and the surrounding region continues to increase, along with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for travel to the area, the demand for flights to the New York area is rapidly evaporating,” wrote David Seymour, American’s senior vice president of operations, wrote to employees in a memo.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline said it will operate eight departures from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, down from about 170 in April 2019. It will also fly three flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport, down from around 80 midweek peak departures in the same month last year. It’ll fly one daily flight to its Charlotte hub and to its home at Dallas-Fort Worth from Newark Liberty International Airport.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just over a week ago urged residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to refrain from nonessential domestic travel for 14 days.
American will operate the newly- reduced schedule through May 6.
Other airlines including United and JetBlue have announced deep cuts to their New York City-area service because of the virus. Spirit Airlines Spirit Airlines last week would suspend operations at five airports in the tri-state area, including New York’s LaGuardia, Newark and Hartford, through at least May 4 because of the CDC warning.
Source: Business - cnbc.com
