The chaos that enveloped some US airports as European travel ban went into effect over the weekend was little in evidence on Monday as passengers arrived in New York off a dwindling number of European flights.
“It was the easiest time I’ve ever had,” said Meroula Hondrow, stepping off a half-empty Virgin Atlantic plane from Heathrow. “I was expecting queues and hassle but there was none.”
Passengers, she said, had their temperatures checked before they stepped off the plane and had been asked to fill out a form declaring where they had been in the prior 14 days or if they had been in contact with anyone showing symptoms of Covid-19.
Others said they had queued for 45 minutes because only two customs desks were open. But the queues, many said, were far longer to board planes than to get through at the other end.
“It wasn’t as crazy as yesterday when my brother got here,” said one US traveler arriving on British Airways. “They checked us before we got on the plane and that was it.”
The slowdown in travelers from the UK and Ireland crossing the Atlantic ahead of travel restrictions that come into effect at midnight comes in contrast to scenes on Saturday when travelers arriving at several major US airports waited in line for several hours unable to practice even rudimentary social distancing.
On Monday, Chad Wolf, acting secretary for the US Department of Homeland Security, said on Twitter that average wait time on Sunday for Americans returning home from coronavirus affected areas was 27.2 minutes.
Over the weekend, as travelers endured a six-hour wait for bags followed by two to four more hours of wait for customs, Chicago’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, had tweeted her frustration with the situation at O’Hare international airport.
“The reactionary, poorly planned travel ban has left thousands of travelers at ORD forced into even greater health risk. @realDonaldTrump and @CBP: No one has time for your incompetence. Fully staff our airport right now, and stop putting Americans in danger,” she said.
Restrictions on international flights come as some airlines are reporting a 75% drop in passenger numbers, with several warning of collapse unless they receive government bailouts.
On Monday, the industry group Airlines for America posted a request for financial help as United, American and Delta, as well as international carriers, announced ever-deeper cuts in service and, in some cases, layoffs.
On Sunday night, United said it would cut its planned flying in half in April and May and is in talks with its unions about steps that could include furloughs and pay cuts. Delta and American Airlines have also announced cuts in flying, hiring freezes and voluntary unpaid leave for employees.
Executives at the plane maker Boeing have been in talks with congressional officials and the Trump administration about potential financial assistance, as part of a broader aid package for the aviation industry, a company executive told the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
But the plea for assistance came as more countries added their name to the list restricting travel as part of an international effort to slow the spread of the contagion threatening life and wreaking havoc on the global economy.
On Monday, Canada announced it would restrict non-essential travel but would not ban the entry of any foreigners. However, anyone arriving from outside the country is now required to “self-isolate for 14 days”.
Europe, too, is seeking to restrict the movement of people, with the EU president, Ursula von der Leyen, proposing a temporary halt to nonessential travel to the EU for 30 days.
But at John F Kennedy international airport, the new norms for travel – fewer passengers on fewer planes – anticipate what may be a new age of aviation. A US company, #Fly, has introduced a routing map that predicts coronavirus-related travel problems based on information from the Johns Hopkins Covid-19 database.
