U.S. airlines and hotels are extending options for customers to rebook travel to a growing list of countries, including Italy, as coronavirus cases spiked outside of China and sparked fears of a global pandemic.
CDC officials told Americans on Tuesday to begin preparing for the coronavirus to spread within the country as outbreaks in Iran, South Korea and Italy escalated, triggering concerns of a hit to global travel demand.
Delta Air Lines said that reservations through March 2 on flights to Bologna, Milan and Venice in northern Italy, where cases have climbed, are eligible for rescheduling. Air Canada has also added parts of Italy to its list of places eligible for rebookings.
United Airlines Holdings and American Airlines said on Tuesday they were still monitoring developments in Italy.
A Delta pilot is seen in a file photo. Delta Air Lines said that reservations through March 2 on flights to northern Italy, where virus cases have climbed, are eligible for rescheduling.
Health personnel work in the triage area at the Molinette hospital as they try to prevent further coronavirus cases on February 26, 2020 in Turin, Italy
On Wednesday, Delta it will reduce flights to South Korea as concern rises about the spread of the new virus beyond China.
Delta said it will suspend flights between Seoul and Minneapolis after Saturday and running through April 30. Delta also said it will reduce flights from Seoul to Atlanta, Detroit and Seattle to five times a week. The airline said last fall that it was operating about 28 flights per week on those routes.
The Atlanta-based airline, the world´s largest by revenue, will also delay the start of new flights between Seoul´s Incheon Airport and Manila. Instead of beginning March 29, the launch has been pushed back to May 1.
Delta, United Airlines and American Airlines have already suspended all flights to and from mainland China and Hong Kong. United said this week that demand for service to China had disappeared, and that March bookings for flights elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region had plummeted 75% since the outbreak.
Hyatt Hotels also said it would allow travelers from South Korea, Japan and Italy to cancel or change their hotel bookings for free, expanding the policy from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
The Piazza Duomo in Milan is nearly deserted on Wednesday. The viral outbreak that began in China and has infected more than 80,000 people globally, so far caused 374 cases and 12 deaths in Italy, according to the last figures released by civil protection
The Vittorio Emanuele Gallery in the city center is seen empty on Wednesday in Milan, Italy. Many communities across the Lombardy and Veneto regions have seen the suspension of public events and church services, and the closure of grade schools and universities
Civil protection and health workers who wear protective suits and health masks deliver the evening meal at the Bel Sit hotel in Alassio where 34 people from Asti are in quarantine
The cancellations or booking changes at Hyatt are valid for reservations made through March 31, the U.S. hotel operator said on its official Chinese social media account on WeChat.
Major airlines have also issued travel waivers, eliminating change fees, for flights to South Korea.
So far U.S. airlines have only canceled flights to China, a move that followed the U.S. State Department’s decision to elevate a travel advisory to the country to the same level as Afghanistan and Iraq.
American Airlines shares dropped 9.3% to $23.12 on Tuesday, below their price after the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2013.
Cowen analyst Helane Becker said the impacts extended to car rental companies as well as concessions and restaurants in airports and on cruise lines.
‘It’s not just the airlines that are being impacted by people making different travel plans,’ she said.
Two passengers wear protective masks as they travel on a train from Rome to Milan on Tuesday
Two passengers of the subway are wearing a protective mask on Wednesday in Milan
Via Festa del Perdono, usually full of hundreds of university students, is seen empty in front of the main university building of the University degli Studi on Wednesday in Milan, Italy
Royal Caribbean Cruises said it has canceled 30 sailings in Southeast Asia and changed several itineraries in the region due to the coronavirus outbreak, hitting its 2020 earnings per share by about $0.90.
Hyatt’s larger rivals Marriott International Inc and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc have also issued cancellation waivers for guests affected by the outbreak in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan until March 31.
The hotel chains did not immediately respond to requests for comment if they were extending the waiver to South Korea, Japan and Italy as well.
Even travel companies without exposure to Europe and Asia were keeping an eye on developments.
JetBlue, which only flies in the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, said on Tuesday it had activated its pandemic response team to monitor the situation in real time.
The team was last called on for the Zika virus outbreak in 2016, a spokesman said.