CHARLOTTE, N.C. — American Airlines is capping ticket prices on flights back from Europe after President Trump announced Wednesday the cancellation of many flights between the United States and most of Europe.
A 30 day suspension of most travel takes effect Friday. There are some notable exceptions, including the continuation of all flights from the United Kingdom, and the continuation of some flights for for legal, permanent residents or U.S. family members returning from other parts of Europe.
Passengers flying an exempt flight into the United States will arrive at one of only eleven airports approved by the Department Homeland Security.
Charlotte-Douglas International Airport is not on that list.
The 11 approved airports in the United States accepting except passengers from Europe are:
- Atlanta: Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
- Chicago: Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
- Dallas-Fort Worth: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
- Detroit: Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)
- Honolulu: Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL)
- Los Angeles: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- New York City: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- Newark, New Jersey: Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
- San Francisco: San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
- Seattle: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
- Washington, D.C.: Washington-Dulles International Airport (IAD)
American Airlines announced Thursday flights between Charlotte and Frankfurt and Munich Germany would discontinue Friday with an expected resumption on May 7.
Bernd and Helga Aundrup landed home in Charlotte from Germany hours before the restrictions took effect.
“We were looking forward to this for months and months, my husband planning the trip so nicely and we just came here yesterday and we didn't have any problems coming into the country,” says Helga Aundrup.
With changes and restrictions happening so quickly, they think staying is too risky.
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“It’s better to be heading off home than staying here and facing some uncertainty on whether we would be able to leave in 3 weeks as planned or not,” says Bernd Aundrup.
The airline industry is forecasting losses up to $113 billion this year. Major airlines have been cutting back on U.S. and international flights
The CEO of Southwest Airlines told CNBC the coronavirus is the biggest threat to travel since 9/11.