With Trump’s Europe Travel Ban, World Economy Takes Another Hit

Travel and leisure stocks slumped nearly 10 percent on the benchmark Stoxx 600 index, and European airline shares plunged as much as 20 percent as the sector braced for a nearly unprecedented brake on activity. Air France, Lufthansa and IAG, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, fell as much as 13 percent. Shares in Carnival, the cruise ship operator, fell to 11-year lows.

Questions swirled about the possibility of work furloughs or potential layoffs. In Rome, Ciampino Airport, a hub for low-cost airlines, announced Thursday 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.

The move worsened a stock market slump in Asia and sent airlines and other industries scurrying for answers. European visitors to the United States, excluding those from Britain, totaled nearly 11 million in 2018, accounting for more than a quarter of all travelers.

Travel and tourism between the United States and Europe, including areas not covered by the ban, is a business totaling roughly $130 billion annually, according to U.S. data. The blow will be felt in both regions, as airlines that cannot bring European travelers to the United States are unlikely to maintain a large number of flights going the other way.

Airlines had already been cutting routes across the Atlantic as travelers increasingly chose to stay home. Still, the industry will take an immediate hit.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/business/trump-europe-travel.html