The US Department of Transportation has imposed restrictions on flights over key cities in the US tomorrow while events take place to commemorate those who lost their lives on 11 September.
The temporary flights restrictions will be enforced over New York (07:00-20:00), Washington DC (08:30-11:00) and Somerset (all day), where United Air Lines Flight 93 crashed. Aircraft will not be able to fly lower than 18,000 feet during these times. The “30-minute seat rule” will also be in effect, whereby passengers must remain in their seats for 30 minutes after take-off and 30 minutes before landing. This rule has been in effect for flights leaving and arriving at Reagan Washington National Airport since October last year.
Private flights and sightseeing flights will be banned in these cities. The restrictions have been imposed by the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Many airlines have reduced frequency for 11 September due to low bookings. British Airways has cancelled 26 flights to and from the US and two flights to and from Barbados. A spokesperson said that frequency had been reduced to a number of US cities including New York, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia due to poor bookings.
United Air Lines has cut domestic services in the US by around 10%, but has made no changes to its international schedule. Air Canada has also made cuts to domestic frequency, but not altered its international flights.
Virgin Atlantic has cut three services to New York, Orlando and Los Angeles, due to low bookings, but is operating other flights to these destinations. A spokesperson said that bookings for the rest of the week were normal for this time of year.
American Airlines has cut four of its 36 daily flights: one of its two services between Paris and New York, one of its five Heathrow to Chicago services, one of its seven Heathrow to New York services, and one of its two Heathrow to Boston services. A spokesperson said: “I don’t think it is just a security issue, people, particularly Americans want to be remembering the events in a certain place, not travelling on the day”.
Lufthansa has cut three return flights to destinations that are served out of Frankfurt by more than one flight per day. These destinations are New York, Washington and Boston. Bmi British Midland is still operating its longhaul services out of Manchester to Chicago and Washington.
