Several of the top airlines in the United States have started waiving cancellation and change fees for travelers scheduled to fly to South Korea or Italy as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread to other countries outside China.
For travelers booked for flights to South Korea, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its warning to Level 3 and is advising Americans to coronavirus.html” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>avoid nonessential travel to the country.
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In total, there have been 893 confirmed cases in South Korea, which is a massive spike from the 28 cases reported on February 14.
As a result, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have all issued travel advisories for scheduled flights to the South Korean capital of Seoul. American has waived cancellation and change fees through April 24, while Delta extended the changes through April 30 and United through June 30.
United officials also revealed demand for its trans-Pacific routes outside of China has declined 75 percent due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
In addition to the travel advisories to South Korea and China, Delta also announced it would be waiving cancellation and change fees for scheduled flights to coronavirus-outbreak” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>key destinations in Italy, such as Bologna, Milan and Venice. The waivers will be in effect through March 2 to match its partners at Air France.
Italy has become the European country most impacted by the viral outbreak, with more than 260 cases and seven confirmed deaths. The confirmed coronavirus cases have spread from the north to other parts of the country, including Sicily in the south.
U.S. airlines have also suspended all service to Hong Kong and mainland China.
Japan is also feeling the impact of the coronavirus, as a member of the International Olympic Committee said the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo in July could be canceled if the outbreak shows no sign of dissipating.
