Passengers wearing face masks walk through the international arrivals hall upon arrival at Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport.
Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Boeing, airlines and other travel stocks collapsed on Friday after several European and Asian countries announced new travel restrictions from southern Africa due to a new variant of Covid.
European Union member states agreed on Friday to suspend travel from the region, a day after Britain announced it would temporarily suspend flights from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
South African scientists discovered the variant, which contains high numbers of mutations, raising concerns that it could spread quickly.
Health officials warned that more research is needed, but the new travel restrictions show how quickly countries can restrict travel as new variants are discovered. The delta variant of the virus, which spread rapidly earlier this year, drove back demand for travel and caused some companies to postpone the return of employees to the office.
Airlines and aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing were optimistic about a rebound in travel demand, particularly given a recent fall in cases and after the US lifted entry restrictions earlier this month.
Travel and aerospace stocks fell more sharply than the broader market on Friday. Boeing shares lost more than 6% in afternoon trading during a shortened session after the holidays.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are the only US carriers offering non-stop service to and from South Africa next month. United was down more than 11% in afternoon trading while Delta was down more than 10%. American Airlines was also nearly 10% lower. Hotel giant Hilton lost more than 7% and Marriott lost more than 8%.
According to aviation consultancy Cirium, 122 flights between the United States and South Africa are planned for December. United, which has the largest number of scheduled flights with 87 flights, will resume non-stop flights between its Newark, New Jersey and Cape Town hub next month. A spokeswoman said no changes are currently planned.
Delta is offering 35 scheduled flights between the USA and South Africa in December.
“Delta will continue to work closely with our government partners to evaluate any changes in US policy,” the airline said in a statement.
British Airways will operate 214 flights between London and South Africa next month, while Virgin Atlantic will operate 75 flights, according to Cirium.
“Following the recent announcement by the Minister of Health, we are preparing plans for our customers and colleagues who are currently in South Africa and who will be arriving from the UK in the coming days,” British Airways, an American Airlines partner, said in a statement. The carrier said it will contact customers affected by the changes.
Delta’s transatlantic partner Virgin Atlantic said it would cancel flights from Johannesburg from Friday to early Sunday due to the new UK rules.
The State Department and the White House did not immediately comment on possible travel restrictions to the United States
On November 8, the Biden government lifted a comprehensive pandemic travel ban on most non-citizens from more than 30 countries, including the UK, the EU, South Africa and Brazil.
Although domestic traffic had largely recovered from the early pandemic lockdowns, international travel remained a missing component in the airline’s recovery.
On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving in the United States and generally one of the busiest travel days of the year, the Transportation Security Administration screened more than 2.3 million people. That was the highest since February 2020, but still 12% below the same day in 2019.
– CNBC’s Matt Clinch contributed to this article.
