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Travelers glance at an airport departure board.
- American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines have announced adjustments to their transatlantic route networks following President Donald Trump's European travel restriction that will see numerous routes suspended.
- All three airlines will be forced to suspend routes from airports not on the US government's approved entry airport list, with some even canceling flights on non-affected routes.
- American Airlines announced over 30 routes to Europe as well as South America that will be suspended until as early as May with Delta Air Lines only announcing nine suspended routes, so far.
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President Donald Trump's announcement on Wednesday of travel restrictions to Europe largely caught the airline industry by surprise and left the big three US airlines that operate transatlantic flights reeling while trying to determine how to respond. American, Delta, and United were slow to react publicly to the announcement as entire transatlantic strategies would have to be reviewed before the midnight deadline on Friday.
A number of routes have to be revised or even suspended under the new protocol that bars foreign travelers who have visited continental Europe's Schengen Area from entering the US. All eligible travelers, which include US citizens and legal permanent residents, will have to enter the country via one of only 11 approved entry airports.
American Airlines and Delta Air Lines were among the most affected carriers as multiple Europe-gateway airports served by the two airlines were not on the approved list. For American, its Miami, Charlotte, and Philadelphia hubs were left off of the initial list. For Delta, the same went for its Minneapolis, Boston, and Salt Lake City hubs.
The duo also operates service to European from secondary cities not listed as hubs including Raleigh, Cincinnati, and Portland. United Airlines only saw two of its hubs in Houston and Denver left off of the list, with the airline not operating the same number of point-to-point routes to Europe as American and Delta.
All three airlines announced their initial response to Trump's travel restrictions including which routes will be suspended during the 30-day time period and which cities will continue to see service.