On Thursday, March 12th, American Airlines announced it would be suspending flights to the 26 newly restricted European countries within the Schengen Area beginning next week (March 14th – 19th) until May 7th or June 4th, depending on the lane.  American also announced that they will be delaying the start of their seasonal Rome service, reducing the frequency of their flights to London, as well as canceling several flights to Argentina, Brazil, and Chile through June.

Lufthansa released an initial statement to the cargo community confirming that it will continue to operate its freighter schedule, plus passenger flights to Chicago, Newark, and Washington Dulles. They also plan to increase the number of freighter frequencies between Frankfurt and its main gateways.  However, the airline has yet to announce any specific flight changes.

Swiss World Cargo announced it will provisionally suspend U.S. flights, except its Newark and Chicago routes, effective Saturday, March 14th.

It is reported that almost 50% of transatlantic cargo moves in the belly hold of passenger flights. As a result, the upcoming flight cancellations will certainly impact cargo capacity. However, there are still other methods to get airfreight to and from countries affected by travel restrictions, such as utilizing the existing flight and truck schedules, freighter networks, and charters if needed. Please contact [email protected] if you require assistance.

Please note that this is only a small example of the information we have received thus far and is subject to change.  Shapiro will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.