Last evening, President Trump suspended entry into the U.S. of most foreign nationals who have been in certain European countries at any point during the 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival to the United States. These countries, known as the Schengen Area, include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
This morning, airfreight costs are surging as more than half of cargo capacity out of Europe depends on passenger service. With a large number of passenger flights now likely to be canceled, freighter service is at a premium for the very limited freighter network that operates out of Europe.
The new travel ban will also affect the availability of cargo capacity from other regions, like India, that rely on European carriers and their hubs to move cargo to the U.S.
There are also reports that even freighter service may be restricted in the future as crews become uncomfortable with various foreign governments' policies surrounding quarantines in between or after flights.
Janel's air and ocean freight leads are working closely with our European partners to identify options for our customers and will provide further updates later today.
In the interim, if you have affected cargo currently in-transit, pending booking or due to ship in the coming days or weeks, please reach out to your Janel representative to discuss options and to ensure our team is working with our internal resources to achieve the best possible result for your cargo.