Last checked at 
* Foreign citizens in Europe recently now barred from U.S.
entry
* European carriers seen most affected; Britain exempt from
ban
* Move set to slash billion-dollar European tourist spend in
U.S.
* Asia carrier shares tumble; 'Everyone taken by surprise'
(Updates with shares, details, analyst comment)
By Lisa Baertlein and Laurence Frost
LOS ANGELES/PARIS March 12 (Reuters) - European airline
stocks already battered by the coronavirus plunged again on
Thursday, as a U.S. travel ban on much of continental Europe
deepened the sector's misery and piled pressure on governments
to offer emergency support.
Shares in European carriers, some of which have fallen by
more than half since the virus outbreak first halted flights to
China, suffered further double-digit declines as markets opened.
The 30-day U.S. curbs on travel from the 26-country Schengen
Area - which excludes Britain and Ireland - are similar to those
that went into effect targeting China on Feb. 1 and do not apply
to U.S. residents or their immediate family.
"The impact of the ban will be more substantial" for major
European carriers than the earlier China flight suspensions,
Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska said - because the North
Atlantic accounts for a large share of their long-haul profits.
"The ban effectively stops travel from the Schengen Area to
the USA," Roeska said.
Air France-KLM shares were down 15%, with
Lufthansa and British Airways parent IAG
almost 11% lower as of 0833 GMT. Norwegian Air, which
was struggling to avert a cash crunch even before the
coronavirus crisis, was down 18%.
Lufthansa said it was assessing the impact of the changes on
its U.S. operations, while Air France KLM did not respond
immediately to a request for comment.
'CRITICAL TIME'
The news also sent Asian airline shares sliding during the
region's trading day, with analysts warning of a big impact.
It came as airlines, tourism and airport operators were
already scrambling to respond to a global slump in travel that
is increasingly likely to require government aid to tide
companies through the crisis. The European Union will publish
new state-aid guidelines on Friday.
ADP declined to comment on a Thursday report that
it was preparing to close terminal 3 at Roissy Charles de
Gaulle, the French capital's biggest airport.
Norway is considering whether to close down several airports
as part of its efforts to curb the spread of the virus, airport
operator Avinor told the public broadcaster NRK.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the ban were needed
because the country was entering a "critical time" in the fight
against the virus, which has spread across the United States and
killed at least 37 people and infected 1,281 there.
U.S. airlines had already cut flight schedules to Italy,
facing the largest European outbreak, and will take another hit
from lower demand for flights from major destinations such as
France and Germany.
Nicholas E. Callio, president of airline trade group
Airlines for America, said the ban would hit U.S. airlines,
their employees and travellers "extremely hard".
He said his group respected the need to take the
unprecedented action, but Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
President Sarah Nelson called the ban "irresponsible".
"There is no explanation for how this will help fight the
spread of the virus," she said. "It makes little sense when the
virus is already in the United States."
The move is set to decimate spending by European tourists in
the United States. In March 2019, European visitors to the
country accounted for 29% of arrivals and $3.4 billion of
spending, the U.S. Travel Association said.
"Temporarily shutting off travel from Europe is going to
exacerbate the already-heavy impact of coronavirus on the travel
industry and the 15.7 million Americans whose jobs depend on
travel," U.S. Travel Association President Roger Dow said in a
statement.
Combined with a fresh U.S. State Department advisory asking
citizens to reconsider global travel plans, the move could
create chaos at European airports as passengers attempt a
last-minute rush to fly before the U.S. ban takes effect.
'ENORMOUSLY DISRUPTIVE'
William Reinsch, a former senior U.S. Commerce Department
official and fellow with the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, said the restrictions would be
"enormously disruptive" to airlines, hotels and restaurants
already taking a hit because many Americans are staying home.
"I think the administration will be forced to provide some
relief to the airlines," he said.
Among U.S. carriers, American Airlines could be
relatively spared because of its alliance with British Airways
and higher share of UK traffic.
Air France-KLM partner Delta Air Lines and Lufthansa
ally United Airlines are bound to suffer more,
independent aviation analyst Mike Boyd said. "But the fact is
that with the news of the spread of the virus in Europe, the
flights would be empty anyway."
American Airlines said it was in contact with the U.S.
government to understand and comply with the directive.
Delta said it would waive reservation change fees for
customers traveling to, from or through Europe and Britain
through May 31. United did not respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, Laurence Frost in
Paris and David Shepardson in Washington; additional reporting
by Jamie Freed in Sydney, Sayantani Ghosh in Singapore, Tracy
Rucinski in Chicago and Andrea Shalal in Washington; Writing by
Jamie Freed; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Mark Potter)
