Which Airline Routes are Still in Operation Amid COVID-19?

As recently as March 1, 2020, over 2.2 million people were still flying per day, according to TSA checkpoint data. A little over a month later, the COVID-19 pandemic has escalated to the point where airlines have slashed up to 90 percent of their capacity and the TSA’s nationwide count for passengers screened per day has sunk to around 100,000.

With the various travel international travel bans and domestic self-quarantine measures being enforced to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, those who are still flying must have good cause to do so. But, the flights they might prefer are getting harder to come by.

Here’s a rundown of routes currently being maintained by major airlines, though readers should bear in mind that schedules may be adjusted as travel restrictions alter and pandemic hotspots shift. Forbes' report also pointed out that airlines are largely suspending summer seasonal routes until 2021, at least for the present.

Alaska Airlines

Route reductions are currently scheduled to continue through April 30, 2020. Alaska is also cutting down the number of direct flights from its Seattle hub, as the city is a COVID-19 hotspot. The carrier is also consolidating the number of terminals where it operates at some U.S. airports.

These cities still receive limited non-stop and one-stop Alaska service:

—Dallas-Ft. Worth

—Houston

—Baltimore

—Pittsburgh

—Raleigh-Durham

—Charleston, SC

—San Luis Obispo

—Santa Barbara

—Minneapolis-St. Paul

—Columbus, OH

Through April 2020, Alaska is also continuing to operate international routes out of:

—Guadalajara

—Los Cabos

—Puerta Vallarta

—Vancouver (from Seattle)

American Airlines

Forbes reported that American Airlines plans to suspend at least 60 percent of its international flights this summer and up to 90 percent of Pacific routes. It also said that American’s New York City routes are probably the most affected by the carrier’s cuts to domestic flight capacity (60 to 70 percent lower than in 2019) and that the airline is staffing its New York flights with crew members based outside of the area, as it remains the hardest-hit region of any in the U.S.

—Nonstop service from New York to Los Angeles resume on April 16, 2020, with six weekly flights.

—One or two daily flights from New York also operate to larger airports in Chicago, Boston, Charlotte and Dallas-Ft. Worth. —One flight daily from Los Angeles to Honolulu.

It seems your best bet in terms of securing international travel with American is via Los Angeles or Dallas.

—One route continues from Dallas to Tokyo.

—Select routes to Mexico and Canada.

American’s European and Latin American routes could resume service as soon as May, depending upon the pandemic’s progression.

Delta Air Lines

Delta’s domestic service capacity is reported to have been largely reduced. Internationally, Delta is currently offering very limited transoceanic routes:

—Atlanta to Amsterdam

—Detroit to Amsterdam

—Dallas to Seoul-Incheon

—Seattle to Seoul-Incheon

—Seattle to Tokyo-Haneda

—It’s possible that nonstop service from Los Angeles to Sydney might resume as early as mid-April.

JetBlue

Between April 15 and June 10, 2020, JetBlue will be consolidating its service for metro areas with alternation options nearby. Meaning, those flying JetBlue will need to use these airports:

—Boston (BOS)

—New York-JFK (JFK)

—Newark (EWR)

—Los Angeles (LAX)

—Long Beach (LGB)

—San Francisco (SFO)

—Washington D.C. National (DCA)

Internationally, JetBlue continues to serve these destinations, although travelers should review each country’s travel bans and COVID-19-related policies prior to booking, as many foreign destinations are denying entry to visitors and non-residents:

—Grenada (GND)

—Punta Cana (PUJ)

—Santo Domingo (SDQ)

—Providenciales, Turks and Caicos (PLS)

Southwest Airlines

Southwest released a new schedule for June 6 through June 27 in which it will continue to operate roughly half of its routes, or approximately 2,000 flights, daily. Currently, Southwest continues to fly to Honolulu, although Hawaii requires all arrivals to self-quarantine for fourteen days. Forbes reported that service to the Caribbean could resume as early as May 21, flying into Montego Bay. Southwest is allowing passengers to cancel up to ten minutes prior to departure to receive a flight credit that’s valid for one year.

United Airlines

United’s international routes are operating mainly out of New York/Newark (transatlantic), San Francisco (transpacific) and Houston (Latin American). All From New York/Newark, service reaches:

—Frankfurt

—London

—Tel Aviv

From San Francisco:

—Tokyo-Narita

—Sydney

—Select Guam routes (with daily service also from Honolulu)

From Houston:

—Sao Paulo

—Cancun

—Mexico City

—Monterrey

—Guanajuato

—Guadalajara

—Puerta Vallarta

—Los Cabos

All of United’s Canadian routes are currently suspended. The airline aims to resume service to select Caribbean airports as early as May 3.

Domestically, United is maintaining service between its major hubs, though your airport options are limited. The carrier also operates a nonstop route to Honolulu via San Francisco daily, though service to Hawaii’s other islands is suspended through at least April 22.