Donald Trump's coronavirus move: New Zealand travel agents scramble to rebook clients

Airlines in the United States will be further rocked by the Trump ban. Photo / AP

Travel agents are scrambling to rebook New Zealanders flying to Europe through the United States after President Donald Trump imposed a 30-day travel ban.

Trump's surprise move is another blow to the already embattled airline and travel sectors.

The US-Europe route is popular with thousands of Kiwis a year who typically fly Air New Zealand into cities such as Houston and Chicago, and on to European cities on its alliance partner, United Airlines.

Commercial director at House of Travel, Brent Thomas, said consultants were getting to grips with the news and contacting travellers now.

While it was the low season, those hit by the flight ban could also need help rebooking their ground bookings.

''Unfortunately it's a changing landscape day by day, hour by hour,'' said Thomas, who is also president of the Travel Agents Association of NZ.

He said flying through the US to Europe wasn't as popular as through Asia and the Middle East.

Air New Zealand should not be affected by Trump's surprise move to suspend all travel between the US and Europe for a month beginning Friday in a bid to combat the pandemic.

The Kiwi airline flies non-stop from Los Angeles to London, a service that will stop at the end of October after 36 years. It has flown into Europe before with services to Frankfurt between 1987 and 2001.

Airlines are forecast to lose $180 billion in revenue this year, a figure likely to be conservative following Trump's move that will rock airlines on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tourism Holdings, which has a large recreational vehicle operation in the US, says it is assessing the impact of the suspension.

''Thl will provide an update on the impact and potential mitigations of this suspension on its FY20 NPAT expectations, once this assessment is completed.''Prior to this event, thl's expectations for full-year profit remained at around $24M.

An update is expected to be provided by the end of trade tomorrow.

Cruise company Viking, meanwhile, has announced it will temporarily suspend river and ocean cruise operations until May 1 in response to the coronavirus situation.

Viking chairman Torstein Hagen wrote to booked clients to say "I am sure you recognise that Covid-19 has made travel exceedingly complicated. An increasing number of ports, including Venice, Monte Carlo and Bergen, have temporarily closed to cruise ships; major attractions such as the Vatican and other museums have been closed; and some countries are imposing restrictions on public gatherings and visitors.

"I am writing today because the situation has now become such that operating as a travel company involves significant risks of quarantines or medical detentions, which could diminish the travel experiences for which our guests have been planning ...

"Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend operations of our river and ocean vessels embarking from 12 March to 30 April 2020 ..."