Orlando Airport, Florida (IATA: MCO) has issued a statement warning how the European travel restrictions imposed by President Trump could affect its services.
The Presidential proclamation suspends the entry of most foreign nationals travelling to the United States if they have visited countries within Europe’s Schengen zone during the two weeks prior to their scheduled arrival.
Specifically, that means that international visitors will not be allowed to come to the US if they have visited the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
The airport said that approximately 92 of its inbound flights could be affected during the 30-day restricted travel period.
Potentially affected airlines and the destinations they service include:
- Delta Air Lines — Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Icelandair – Reykjavík, Iceland
- Lufthansa – Frankfurt, Germany
- Norwegian Air – Paris, France & Oslo, Norway (Norwegian Air has now cancelled these flights)
The US Department of Homeland Security acting secretary, Chad F Wolf, announced that within the next two days he intends to begin a supplemental Notice of Arrivals Restriction. That restriction would require US passengers that have been in the Schengen Area to travel through select airports where the US government has implemented enhanced screening procedures.
Orlando International is not a screening airport and said it will continue to monitor changes and work with airlines and federal agencies in handling operations for international passengers. It encouraged passengers to check with their individual airlines regarding the status of their travel plans.