Airlines call for urgent help after US imposes travel ban

Airlines demanded immediate action from governments to alleviate the deepening crisis engulfing the industry after Donald Trump banned non-American citizens from travelling to the US from most European nations to limit the outbreak of coronavirus. Share prices across the aviation sector tumbled on Thursday in response to the ban, which mirrors restrictions the US already has in place on travel from China and Iran. “The new restrictions imposed further pressure on an already difficult situation,” said Jacob Schram, CE of Norwegian. “We urge international governments to act now to ensure that the aviation industry can protect jobs and continue to be a vital part of the global economic recovery.”  Shares in Air France-KLM and Lufthansa both dropped more than 10% as the US ban darkened an outlook for an airline sector estimated to be facing a hit of at least $100b from the pandemic. One airline CE said this was now “the worst crisis in the history of aviation”. <br/>