THE LATEST ON FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS AS THE PANDEMIC SWEEPS THE WORLD

CORONAVIRUS has swept the world into a frenzy leaving many travellers in limbo.

As the fast-spreading disease hits pandemic status across the globe, many airlines have grounded flights.

Here is the most up-to-date list of the flight cancellations and restrictions across the major airlines at the time of going to print: RYANAIR

Following the increase in cases across Italy, the budget airline decided to pull the plug on all flights to and from Italy until April 8, 2020.

Ryanair has cancelled flights

Berlin Schonefeld to Tel Aviv and

Eilat Ramon, from Berlin Tegel to Tel Aviv, from Nuremberg, Memmingen, Karlsruhe Baden Baden to Tel Aviv and Marseille to Tel Aviv will be cancelled from March 15 until April 8.

There will also be no flights to and from Georgia or from Spain to Montenegro. The airline will continue to provide updates based on the development of the Covid-19 crisis.

EASYJET easyJet made the decision to cancel the majority of its flights to and from Italy after the country took extreme measures to combat the rapidly spreading confirmed cases. This will be reviewed on April 3 based on government and WHO advice.

However, the airline has said it will provide “rescue flights” for travellers who find themselves stranded in Italy following the news. It has also waived flight change fees for passengers who need to rearrange their trip. A number of flights to France have also been suspended.

Following an Israeli Government travel restrictions update, any easyJet passengers who have travelled internationally and who are not Israeli citizens must prove they have a residential address and phone number where they can self-isolate for 14 days in order to be admitted to the country.

BRITISH AIRWAYS

British Airways has cancelled all flights to and from Italy until at least

April 4 but will continue to work with authorities to determine a safe time to restart travel.

Flights to China continue to be suspended until April 18.

BA made the decision to pull all flights to and from Beijing and Shanghai until April 17, 2020. The airline has also reduced its schedule to Hong Kong, merging two daily flights into one.

Asked about yesterday’s US travel ban, a British Airways spokesman cited the airline’s “book with confidence” policy. Customers who are booked to fly with the airline between March 14 and May 31 can cancel their booking and receive a voucher for the same value.

The airline’s website says: “Vouchers are valid for 12 months and can be used to any destination.

“Your voucher can be used as part payment towards a future booking to any destination. It must be redeemed for travel on flights taken within 12 months of your original date of departure.”

TUI

TUI has cancelled thousands of holidays to a raft of destinations due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Affected countries include Jamaica, Spain, Cyprus, Malta, Italy and Tunisia.

Separate advice about visa requirements have been issued for Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

For those people travelling to Florida, they are urged to get in touch as Disney and Universal has closed its theme parks there.

The travel company updated its guidance on Saturday March 14, saying: “Our holiday programme is experiencing some disruption due to local authority restrictions and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice. We are proactively contacting all customers whose holidays are affected to discuss their options, including an amendment or full refund.”

All flights to Jamaica have been cancelled following the decision by Jamaican authorities not to permit entry to anyone travelling from the UK to Jamaica from March 14 for 14 days.

All holidays to Spanish resorts between March 14 and 16 have been cancelled, while all flights to Cyprus departing up to and including March 24 are also grounded.

Restrictions imposed by the authorities in Malta and Tunisia also mean TUI has stopped its flights departing to those countries up to and including March 22.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC

Virgin Atlantic has placed travel restrictions for anyone who has been to these affected areas Those who have will not be allowed to fly to Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, India, Hong Kong, Jamaica, St Lucia, Israel, Trinidad and Tobago, or the US. They have also suspended Heathrow-Shanghai operations until April 19.

KLM

The Dutch airline is “monitoring the situation minutely”.

The US has imposed a 14-day

ban on all passengers who have been in a Schengen country in the past two weeks. This also applies to passengers transferring at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. This ban started in the early hours of Saturday, March 14.

Due to rapid changes in government regulations of various countries and regions, including the Netherlands, the airline is “strongly recommend reviewing the latest entry requirements of any destination you’re travelling to”. WIZZ AIR

All flights to and from Italy and Israel are being suspended – Luton to Bari and Catania from now until Friday, April 3 and Luton to Tel Aviv from now until Monday, March 23.

JET2

All flights to Italy are cancelled.

The airline is currently contacting customers already out there to arrange flights home.

Cancelled flights include Rome, Naples, Pisa, Venice, Verona and Turin and they will remain cancelled until at least Sunday, April 26.

Jet2 also yesterday cancelled flights to Spain including flights to the Balearic and Canary Islands. NORWEGIAN

Norwegian has announced it is cancelling around 3,000 flights between now and mid-June and has advised customers to stay up-todate if they are set to fly with them. LUFTHANSA GROUP

Lufthansa Group published a reduced flight schedule until April 24, which mainly affects travel to Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Further changes: Flights to mainland China have been suspended until April 24; Flights to Hong Kong will be reduced in March and April; Flights to Tehran suspended until April 30; Despite the new travel guidelines ordered by the US administration, Lufthansa will continue to offer flights to the USA from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium.

EMIRATES

Emirates has suspended a number of

American routes, including from Fort Lauderdale, and between New York and Milan and New York and Athens.

Flights to Venice, Milan, Bolgna, Rome and Warsaw are also suspended. Routes to Guangzhou, Shanghai, Bangkok – Hong Kong, Kuwait, Tehran and Saudi Arabia are also on hold until at least the end of the month.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS

Etihad Airways has reduced its flights between Abu Dhabi and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia significantly. Currently, Etihad operates one daily flight each to Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam from

Abu Dhabi.

Further suspensions have been announced, including: Flights to Medina; Flights between Abu Dhabi and Shanghai, Abu Dhabi and Chengdu and Beijing and Nagoya, Japan; Flights between Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong; Flights between Abu Dhabi and MilanThe airline will also suspend flights between Abu Dhabi and Rome, with the final flights to Rome and to Abu Dhabi, operating on March 14; Flights between Abu Dhabi and Kuwait from 9pm GMT March 13; Flights between Abu Dhabi and Bahrain DELTA AIRLINES

Delta Airlines has suspended all flights to China until the end of April and reduced the services to South Korea and Japan, and a number of flights to Italy have been cancelled.

The company is also suspending seven flights between the United States and Europe and said further cuts are under evaluation based on demand.

AMERICAN AIRLINES

American Airlines has suspended flights to China and Hong Kong until at least April 23. Due to the reduction in demand, American Airlines has also suspended operations to and from Milan, Italy, from New York (JFK) and Miami (MIA) and flights to Seoul, South Korea. Flights to Milan and Seoul are scheduled to resume on April 25.

There is also a reduced service to South America, including a suspension of flights to Argentina.

Flights have also been suspended from specific American airports to European cities such as Madrid, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. For a full breakdown, visit thecompany’s website.

AIR FRANCE

Air France has suspended flights to mainland China, Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei. Depending on how the situation evolves, the company plans to gradually resume their operations from the end of March.

The airline has also reduced its flights across Europe by 25 per cent and as from March 14, will suspend service to all their Italian destinations until April 3.

Further cancellations: All flights to/from Saint Petersburg, Russia have been cancelled since March 12; All flights to/from Tel-Aviv have been cancelled since March 6; All flights to/from Amman will be cancelled as from March 16; All flights to/ from Beirut will be cancelled as from March 17.