Travelers and airlines face further chaos after the UK and Ireland were added to the US travel band in place since  Saturday for 26 European countries.

The US administration confirmed the latest move will begin midnight on Monday and means foreign nationals who have traveled to UK or Ireland in the last 14 days will be denied permission to enter the US.

It is among several countries to introduce tougher entry requirements in recent weeks. New Zealand also announced over the weekend that it would require travelers entering the country from anywhere but a list of Pacific islands to self-isolate for 14 days. It has also banned cruise ships until the end of June.

READ: Shock New Zealand move to isolate nearly all visitors.

US citizens and permanent residents who have been in the two countries in the last 14 days will be allowed to return home from the UK  but only via designated airports.

The European ban had angered the European Union and airlines because of the lack of consultation and the fact it is counter to current advice from the World Health Organization.

The US President indicated in a Press conference Saturday that experts were looking at new numbers.

He said the UK ‘s numbers had gone up “fairly precipitously over the last 24 hours” and they could be added to the list of banned countries.

He also indicated other countries could be added to the list.

“And we may, frankly, start thinking about taking some off,’’ he said.

Vice President Mike Pence later confirmed the UK and Ireland had been added to the list from midnight Monday.

He said health experts had presented information and made a unanimous recommendation to the Trump Administration that all travel be suspended.

Airlines began reacting to the new ban as customers swamped call centers.

American Airlines said it was evaluating its current scheduled service to the UK and Ireland but had not yet made any additional adjustments to its schedule at this time. American previously announced a schedule reduction to London.

“American continues to work closely with the US authorities to comply with these new orders while treating all of our customers with respect,’’ it said.

Delta Air Lines urged customers not traveling in the next 72 hours to wait and contact it closer to their trip.

“As the coronavirus situation continues to evolve, our teams are focused on first addressing the needs of customers who are traveling within the next 72 hours, as well as those who have been impacted by the U.S. government-issued travel restrictions between the U.S. and Europe,” it said

“Due to high volume traffic, customers are experiencing issues and we recognize that this is frustrating.

“To help address customers with immediate travel needs, we are asking those who do not have travel in the next 72 hours to wait and contact us closer to your trip.”

It was a similar message in the UK from British Airways, which urged people to check its website.

“Thank you for the trust you place in us every time you choose to travel with British Airways,” it said.

“These are unprecedented times for our industry, our country and the world.

“Please be assured that our expert teams are working closely with the UK Government and health organizations around the world to ensure we’re following the very latest advice. We’ll do everything we can to help customers affected.”

Trump, who has been tested for the coronavirus and whose temperature is now being regularly monitored, has declared a national emergency in the US, a move that will open up access to up to $US50 billion in funds and has urged US states to set up emergency operation centers.

Airlines are scrambling to adapt to draconian travel restrictions that require every person landing in New Zealand from almost anywhere in the world to self-isolate for 14 days.

The new regime applies to visitors from countries other than a list of Pacific Island and China and Iran, which have total travel bans in place. It takes effect from midnight Sunday will be reviewed in 16 days’ time.

Kiwis returning home are also affected and cruise ships have been banned from visiting New Zealand until at least June 30.

READ: Trump’s COVID-19 travel ban could see more airlines fail.

“As of midnight Sunday every person entering New Zealand, including returning New Zealand citizens and residents, will be required to enter self-isolation for 14 days,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Adern said. “Everybody.”

The Pacific Island exemption applies only to people who are well and Adern said anyone from those countries who exhibited signs of COVID-19 upon arrival would be required to automatically self–isolate.

“Alongside Israel, and a small number of Pacific Islands who have effectively closed their border, this decision will mean New Zealand will have the widest-ranging and toughest border restrictions of any country in the world,” she said.

“We are also encouraging New Zealanders to avoid all non-essential travel overseas. This helps reduce the risk of a New Zealander bringing COVID-19 back with them.”

The policy will have a major economic impact on a country where tourism is a key industry and the impact will also be felt in neighboring Australia.

Air New Zealand said its contact centers and social media channels were experiencing a high volume of traffic and encouraged customers to contact it only if their flight was departing in the next 48 hours.

It said it would allow affected customers due to depart up until March 31 to receive a refund, hold the fare in credit for 12 months or amend the date without change fees.

The Kiwi carrier subsequently boosted the size of its contact center and social media customer care team to deal with the surge in queries.

“All customers should check our travel alerts page for information and guidance before getting in touch,” said Air New Zealand senior customer care manager Doug Grant.

 “We really appreciate the patience and understanding of all our customers at this difficult time. The entire Air New Zealand team is focussed on providing care and support for our customers.”

Qantas told passengers holding a ticket for flights to or from New Zealand before March 31 who no longer wished to travel could cancel their flight and retain the value of their ticket in credit to be used for travel within 12 months of the original issue date. It would waive the change fee on rebooking.

Virgin Australia said it planned to operate all Virgin Australia flights to and from New Zealand until March 22 and then expected to reduce services.

It offered passengers with bookings to New Zealand until 30 June who no longer wanted to travel the option to change their flight to a later date or to a different destination without a change fee.

“They are also eligible to receive credit to a travel bank with no cancellation fee,” it said.

Seeking to avoid a run on supermarkets, Adern emphasized that the measures do not apply to cargo ships or planes or to marine or aircrew.

“In short, no one needs to conduct a run on their supermarket,” she said. “It’s worth remembering that we’ve had travel restrictions on China for over a month, and those supply routes continue.

“We are mindful that some items that come into New Zealand travel via passenger flights.

“That’s why support, where needed, will be provided to ensure that essential air freight like pharmaceuticals continue to be shipped into New Zealand.”

The New Zealand PM also acknowledged that the travel restrictions would place a significant strain on the aviation industry and said it was anticipated some routes would cease for a period of time.

“As such the Government will work closely with the aviation sector to encourage and support airlines to remain active in New Zealand so that we can re-bound from the restrictions quickly and not have significant impacts on our tourism sector, exporters, and economy,” she said.

US President Donald Trump’s surprise ban on foreign travel from Europe could spark a new round of airline failures as it significantly worsens the financial impact of COVID-19, an industry group has warned.

The  International Air Transport Association warned Thursday its forecast that the COVID-19 pandemic would wipe up to $US113 billion airline revenues did not take into account severe measures such as those taken by the US, Israel, Kuwait and Spain.

It urged governments to prepare for the broad economic consequences of their actions and respond quickly to “the financial frailty of airlines”.

It also called on them to take into account World Health Organization advice against travel and trade restrictions on countries experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks.

Trump’s unilateral travel ban shocked financial markets and caused the biggest plunge in share prices since 1987.

READ: Trump suspends travel to the US from Europe.

Airlines operating trans-Atlantic routes were already cutting capacity but the decision to ban most  European travel added further chaos to what is already a tumultuous situation.

Norwegian Air said Thursday it would suspend more than 4000 flights, ground 40 percent of its long-haul fleet and cancel up to 25 percent of its short-haul flights in the wake of the ban. It would also temporarily lay off up to half of its workforce.

Another European carrier, Lufthansa, said it was working on a special schedule to the US but it would continue to offer flights Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium.

US carriers were also scrambling to adapt,  with American Airlines announcing it was cutting trans-Atlantic capacity by 50 percent in April as part of a 34 percent reduction in International capacity over the summer season.

IATA said the US measures to ban foreigners from traveling from Europe would adversely impact a trans-Atlantic market that in 2019 saw about 550 flights and 125,000 travelers a day.

The ban affects anybody who is not a US citizen or permanent resident and has been in the Schengen group of European countries in the past 14 days. It does not apply to the UK.

The total value of the US-Schengen market in 2019 was $US20.6 billion and IATA estimates those markets facing the heaviest impact are  US-Germany ($US4 billion), US-France ($US3.5 billion) and US-Italy ($US2.9 billion).

IATA director-general Alexandre de Juniac conceded these were extraordinary times and safety, including public health, was a priority.

He said airlines were complying with government requirements but governments also need to recognize that airlines—employing some 2.7 million people—were under extreme financial and operational pressures.

“This will create enormous cash-flow pressures for airlines,”  he said of the US move.

“We have already seen Flybe go under. And this latest blow could push others in the same direction.

“Airlines will need emergency measures to get through this crisis.

“Governments should be looking at all possible means to assist the industry through these extreme circumstances.

“Extending lines of credit, reducing infrastructure costs, lightening the tax burden are all measures that governments will need to explore.

“Air transport is vital, but without a lifeline from governments we will have a sectoral financial crisis piled on top of the public health emergency.”

Airports are also in the firing line.

Even before the Trump decision, Airports Council International Europe had warned airports, particularly those in Italy, were facing a crisis

ACI’s assessment at that stage was that European airports would lose 67 million passengers in the first quarter of 2020 and 187 million over the year.

Those figures will now be exacerbated by the Trump ban.