By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – Delta Air Lines (NYSE 🙂 and United Airlines announced Friday that no changes were planned to their South Africa to U.S. routes following the White House’s announcement on Monday about new travel restrictions for southern Africa. This was in response to fears over a COVID-19-related variant.

United and Delta are both the United States’ only airlines with direct flights to South Africa.

Delta currently operates service between Johannesburg and Atlanta three times weekly and the U.S. airline said “there are no planned adjustments to service at this time.”

According to The White House, the White House plans to ban all entry from non-U.S. citizens that have visited South Africa or seven African countries in the last fourteen days.

Airlines for America is a trade association representing U.S. cargo and passenger carriers. It said that it was still in communication with the U.S. government because details are not known at this point and many questions remain unanswered. In this fast-changing environment, it’s crucial for the U.S. to make sure that international travel regulations and requirements are rooted in science.

United indicated that they “remain committed to maintaining safe and vital links for essential supplies to be transported between the United States and Africa as possible.” We don’t have any adjustments to our schedule at this time.”

United currently has five flights per week between Newark & Johannesburg. United stated Friday that they plan to resume service on December 1st as originally scheduled.