Spirit Airlines is temporarily suspending service to and from Newark International Airport along with other airports in New York and Connecticut in response to a federal advisory warning against non-essential travel to the tri-state area because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its advisory on Saturday, urging residents in those states to refrain from non-essential trips for 14 days in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Spirit is suspending service at airports in Newark, New York City, Niagara Falls, New York, Plattsburgh, New York, and Hartford, Connecticut, through at least May 4, the company said.
Spirit, the only major airline flying out of Atlantic City International, is continuing to offer flights from that airport with 10 departures listed on Tuesday to Florida and South Carolina, according to FlightAware.com.
The airline is reducing service to Atlantic City, but continuing operations, company spokesman Field Sutton confirmed Tuesday. As the only commercial carrier at that airport, Spirit wanted to give workers in critical infrastructure jobs the option to travel when they must, he said.
The airport also serves as a crew base for Spirit.
“Operating limited service from the airport allows us to support our team members who staff flights across Spirit’s network,” according to Sutton.
Spirit is reaching out to customers who had booked flights that are now canceled. "Emails are going out automatically to people on affected flights with notification of the change and credit/rebooking options, Sutton said.
The budget carrier is the first airline to announce a service suspension in the region.
New York City has been dubbed the epicenter of the U.S. COVID-19 outbreak, with more than 37,400 cases reported.
New Jersey has reported more than 16,600 cases and 198 deaths, while New York state has reported more than 66,000 cases and in excess of 1,000 deaths. Connecticut has reported more than 2,500 cases and 36 deaths.
The CDC travel advisory doesn’t apply to workers in critical industries, including public health, trucking, food supply and financial services.
While Spirit gave the travel advisory as its reason for halting service, the pandemic, travel restrictions and fears from the flying public have led to steep drops in business across the industry. Many airlines are canceling flights and parking planes as they struggle for survival.
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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.