Nonetheless, the abrupt travel ban threatened a further blow to tourism-dependent industries on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and added to the problems of world leaders trying to preserve jobs in the face of the relentless coronavirus outbreak.
European airlines were already grappling with a mounting financial toll after curtailing flights Europe and to Asia. Lufthansa said Wednesday that it would cancel 23,000 flights across the group, a 50 percent reduction.
The European Union, and countries including Italy, Germany and Britain, have pledged over 70 billion euros in aid this week alone to support health systems and prevent an economic domino effect as the coronavirus epidemic puts a chilling effect on businesses and the supply chain.
European officials are especially keen to avoid widespread layoffs at a time when Europe’s economic recovery has showed signs of faltering. They are aiming much of their financial firepower at supporting businesses with schemes to move workers to partial employment to minimize the risk of a spike in unemployment.
That didn’t stop questions from swirling Thursday about the possibility of layoffs. In Rome, Ciampino Airport, a hub for low-cost airlines, announced Thursday that it would shutter entirely as of Friday because of the outbreak. Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, which hosts international flights, is bracing for reduced activity, its operator said.
As passengers at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport rushed to book last-minute flights to the United States, Air France said it would decide later Thursday whether to maintain its service to the United States, which represent about a third of revenue. The French government said it was ready to provide state aid — normally forbidden under European Union rules — to help the carrier weather a potentially sharp financial hit.
At the airport, Nadia Hamnache, an employee at SafeBag, a company that sells protective wrap for luggage, said there were already far fewer travelers, with up to 50 percent fewer people visiting shops in Terminal 2E, the hub for Air France and Delta flights. “We’re really afraid of a reduction or canceling of Air France flights, because that impacts us directly,” she said. “If the cancellation of flights continues, we’ll have a loss of revenue.”