American Airlines has announced a raft of changes in relation to yesterday’s surprise ban on European travelers entering the US. Deep cuts have been made to the airline’s transatlantic schedule, but South America has taken a hit too. Full details follow.

What’s happening?

American Airlines, the world’s largest airline by fleet size, has announced plans to cut a huge amount of international capacity in response to Trump's European ban and the ongoing slump in demand due to COVID-19. The adjustments to its schedule were published on its website last night.

Overall, the company is looking to cut back international capacity for the entire summer season by more than a third (34%). In April alone, the airline has published a 50% reduction in transatlantic capacity, clearly in response to Trump’s travel ban.

However, the airline says it will continue to fly to Europe for up to a week. This is to ensure both its customers and its employees can return to their homes before the flights are cut.

As well as Europe, the airline is slashing its services to Latin America. Its services to Argentina are being suspended completely, in the wake of new measures announced by the nation. Argentina will stop issuing visas for travelers from coronavirus hit countries, including the UK, USA and the Schengen area.

The airline has said many of these suspensions will resume as soon as the 7^th May. This latest raft of flight suspensions has allowed the airline to accelerate the retirement of older aircraft, including the Boeing 767 which will be phased out by May.

Details of the cuts – Europe

American Airlines detailed massive cuts to its European route network last night. These cuts, likely prompted by the unexpected ban on travelers from the Schengen zone, are all temporary, with most expected to resume on May 7^th. The affected routes are:

From Charlotte (CLT): Services to Frankfurt and Munich are both suspended from today, March 13^th until May 6^th. It is anticipated these will restart on May 7^th.

From Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW): Services to Frankfurt, Madrid and Paris (CDG) will be suspended from March 19^th until May 6^th. It is anticipated these will restart on May 7^th. As well as these, its services to London Heathrow will reduce from four daily flights to just three, and the seasonal route to Rome (FCO) will be delayed until May 7^th.

From New York (JFK): Flights to Barcelona, Madrid, Milan (MXP) and Paris (CDG) will be suspended from March 19^th. Most are due to restart on May 7^th, although Madrid is not expected to recommence until June 4^th. As well as this, flights to London Heathrow are being pared back from four daily to three, while the seasonal route to Rome (FCO) has been delayed until May 7^th.

From Miami (MIA): Flights to Barcelona, Paris (CDG), Madrid and Milan (MXP) are all being suspended from March 19^th. All apart from Paris are due to restart on May 7^th, while the service to Charles de Gaulle will recommence on June 4^th.

From Chicago O’Hare (ORD): Servies To London Heathrow are being cut back from four times a day to three. Its seasonal service to Rome (FCO) is being pushed back to June 4^th.

From Philadelphia (PHL): Services to Amsterdam, Paris (CDG), Rome (FCO), Madrid and Zurich will all be suspended from today (March 13^th) until May 7^th.

From Raleigh-Durham (RDU): Its service to London Heathrow will be entirely suspended from March 19^th, and is expected to resume on May 7^th.

Speaking about these changes, the airline noted that it had committed to operating some routes from Dallas, New York and Miami for seven days, in order to allow both passengers and crew to find a way home. As Charlotte and Philadelphia are not government-approved gateways, services are changing as of today.

Details of the cuts – South America

American Airlines is also cutting into its South American routes in this latest schedule update. All services to Argentina are suspended, in light of the country’s ban on visas for people from affected areas. As well as that, its nonstop service between Miami and Cordoba was already slated to be dropped, but will now end in March rather than May as expected. The full details are:

From Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW): Services to Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Santiago are all suspended until June 4^th. The Buenos Aires suspension kicks in on the 16^th March, while the others come into effect on the 19^th.

From Los Angeles (LAX): Services to Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo will be suspended on the 16^th and 19^th March respectively. Both will not restart until October 25^th.

From New York (JFK): Servies to Buenos Aires will stop on March 16^th, with resumption slated for June 4^th.

From Miami (MIA): Its Buenos Aries route will stop also on March 16^th, with resumption planned for May 7^th. As mentioned, the service to Cordoba will end permanently in the coming days.

All these services are subject to change and, as always, the advice is to contact the airline before booking or if you have an upcoming flight in order to check you can still travel.