Travel Leaders Briefing: Swine Flu Outbreak
Though the United States has not issued any travel warnings related to the swine flu outbreak in Mexico, major U.S. airlines are waiving fees for passengers who want to change their tickets to Mexico. The United States and other countries across the globe increased their vigilance as the World Health Organization said there are now 40 confirmed cases in the U.S. According to MSNBC on Monday, April 28, President Barack Obama said the threat of spreading swine flu infections is matter of concern but “not a cause for alarm.”
• Continental Airlines said Sunday, April 26, that it will allow passengers to reschedule or reroute their travel without charging them a fee — if they are scheduled to fly to Mexico through May 6.
• American Airlines is allowing customers to change their flights without penalty if they are flying to Mexico through May 6.
• United Airlines is issuing a travel waiver to customers traveling to Mexico City through April 30.
• Delta Air Lines is waiving the change fee for customers traveling to Mexico through May 4.
• On Saturday, April 25, US Airways said it would allow passengers to change plans if they wanted to because of the outbreak.
Neither Britain nor the United States have issued any travel warnings or quarantines. The United States has stepped up preparations for a possible swine flu epidemic, and Canada confirmed its first cases on Sunday, April 26 as researchers worked to determine how contagious the virus could be.