Published 11:20 IST, March 1st 2020
Coronavirus outbreak: American Airlines to suspend flights to Milan
American Airlines Inc said on February 29 that it will be suspending all US flights to Milan in order to take precautionary measures amid coronavirus outbreak.
American Airlines reportedly said on February 29 that it will be suspending all their US flights to Milan, Italy in order to take precautionary measures against coronavirus. This comes hours after the US State Department announced that it was raising its travel warnings for parts of Italy due to COVID-19 outbreak. According to the reports, Italy is facing the worst outbreak of the infectious disease in Europe that took 29 lives and has 1,100 confirmed cases. The virus outbreak in the country took place around last week in a city which is 40 miles (60 km) from Milan, the financial capital situated in the country's north.
As per the reports, American Airlines said that it will suspend flights from New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport and Miami till April 24 witnessing a reduction in the demand. The Trump administration on Saturday raised its travel advisory alert to "Level 4 - Do Not Travel" to Lombardo and Veneto in Italy due to the increase in virus transmission cases and imposition of local quarantine procedures. The airline reportedly said that its final flight will return from Milan on Sunday. As per the reports, the airline said that it will be operating a daily flight to Italy between Philadelphia and Rome from both the places. The airline is scheduled to resume its seasonal service to Venice in May.
'No reason to panic'
US President Donald Trump on Saturday held a press conference where he said there is 'no reason to panic' after one citizen died of the novel coronavirus earlier in the day. Trump at the briefing said, "We respectfully ask the media and politicians and everybody else involved not to do anything to incite the panic because there's no reason to panic at all." Trump further insisted that the criticism of his administration’s handling of the virus outbreak was a hoax. Trump administration also announced additional travel restrictions affecting Iran, Italy, and South Korea in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
READ: Donald Trump Mulls Travel Ban On Italy, South Korea As Coronavirus Cases Rise
Updated 11:20 IST, March 1st 2020