United Airlines to Fly Home Americans Stranded Abroad

United airlines on March 21 announced it will be reinstating some international flights.
United Airlines to Fly Home Americans Stranded Abroad
A United Airlines aircraft takes off from Zurich airport on April 9, 2019. (Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)
Katabella Roberts
3/23/2020
Updated:
3/23/2020

United Airlines on March 21 announced it will be reinstating some international flights, just days after saying its international schedule will be reduced by 90 percent for April due to government restrictions prohibiting travel over the CCP virus.

The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.
In a press release, the airline said it will be reinstating a handful of international flights to Asia, Australia, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe “in an effort to get customers where they need to be,” noting that “people around the globe are displaced and still need to get home.”

The reinstated routes will be in effect through the end of the month and include outbound flights between Newark and Amsterdam, Munich, Brussels and Sao Paulo; Washington Dulles to London; San Francisco to Frankfurt; and San Francisco to Seoul.

Additionally, the airline will continue operating daily flights through May from Newark to Frankfurt, London, and Tel Aviv. From Houston, United will continue flying to Sao Paulo and from San Francisco to Tokyo and Sydney. San Francisco to Seoul flights have also been reinstated to March 29.

The statement concludes: “In destinations where government actions have barred us from flying, we are actively looking for ways to bring customers who have been impacted by travel restrictions back to the United States. This includes working with the U.S. State Department and the local governments to gain permission to operate service.”

Earlier this month, the State Department issued a Level 4 travel advisory warning all U.S. citizens to avoid international travel as the COVID-19 outbreak spreads across the globe, promoting dozens of countries to introduce travel bans and close their borders in an effort to contain the virus. As a consequence, tens of thousands of Americans are stuck abroad and unable to return home.
On Sunday, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) sent a letter (pdf) to President Donald Trump urging the government to take “more forceful action,” including “an aggressive approach by the State Department in arranging charter flights, invoking Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) authorities to make additional aircraft available for evacuations, and directing the Department of Defense to explore making military aircraft, where appropriate, available for this vital mission.”

“No American should ever have to worry that they might be abandoned abroad by our government. As we work together to confront this unprecedented pandemic, we must provide Americans overseas the support that they need,” Menendez added.