Airlines slash flights to the New York City area

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American Airlines on Sunday slashed its flights to the New York City area by more than 90%, the latest carrier to drastically reduce service to the region, now a coronavirus hot spot.

“As coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in New York City and the surrounding region continues to increase, along with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for travel to the area, the demand for flights to the New York area is rapidly evaporating,” David Seymour, American’s senior vice president of operations, wrote to employees in a memo.

New York-area airports are normally among the busiest in the country and the area has some of the most congested airspace, but coronavirus has prompted several carriers to cut service to bare bones, leaving the region more isolated. The cuts in the tri-state region are deeper in some cases than those carriers are making throughout their networks, as demand for air travel craters because of the disease.

More than 120,000 people have tested positive for the disease in New York state, more than half of those in New York City, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just over a week ago urged residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to refrain from nonessential domestic travel for 14 days.

Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines said it will operate eight departures from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, down from about 170 in April 2019. It will also fly three daily flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport, down from around 80 midweek peak departures in the same month last year. And the airline will operate one daily flight to its Charlotte hub and another to its home at Dallas-Fort Worth from Newark Liberty International Airport.

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