United Airlines has moved against the torrent of constant cancellations to reinstate some flights it intended to suspend in order to get customers home.
The airline had announced it was suspending 95 percent of its international flying in April, including flights to Australia, Canada Latin America and Europe and the UK.
In what is now an unusual move, it reversed course over the weekend.
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It said travel demand continued to drop but it was aware there were still people around the globe who were displaced and needed to get home.
“While United’s international schedule will still be reduced by about 90 percent in April, the airline will continue flying six daily operations to and from the following destinations – covering Asia, Australia, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe – in an effort to get customers where they need to be,’’ it said.
“This remains a fluid situation, but United continues to play a role in connecting people and uniting the world, especially in these challenging times.”
These United flights continuing from now through May schedule:
- Newark/New York – Frankfurt (Flights 960/961)
- Newark/New York – London (Flights 16/17)
- Newark/New York – Tel Aviv (Flights 90/91)
- Houston – Sao Paulo (Flights 62/63)
- San Francisco – Tokyo-Narita (Flights 837/838)
- San Francisco – Sydney (Flights 863/870)
In addition to the above, United has reinstated the following flights through to March 27 to help displaced customers who still need to get home:
- Newark/New York – Amsterdam (Flights 70/71)
- Newark/New York – Munich (Flights 30/31)
- Newark/New York – Brussels (Flights 999/998)
- Washington-Dulles – London (Flights 918/919)
- San Francisco – Frankfurt (Flights 58/59)
- Newark/New York – Sao Paulo (Flights 149/148)
San Francisco-Seoul flights have also been reinstated to March 29.
The airline is also looking at ways it can help customers stranded in destinations to which it can’t fly.
“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,’’ the airline said.
“This includes working with the US State Department and the local governments to gain permission to operate service.”
Qantas, which plans to suspend all international flying, is also talking to the Australian government about flights to repatriate people.
