Vice President Mike Pence shared the news at a press conference earlier this afternoon. The ban will go into effect Monday evening at 11:59PM EDT. Flights can (and will) continue to operate from the United Kingdom and Ireland after Monday, but likely be greatly reduced, as is planned for flights to most other western European nations.
This was not exactly a surprise, as President Donald Trump had warned yesterday that "numbers have gone up fairly precipitously over the last 24 hours" in the UK and Ireland.
European nations were caught off-guard by Trump's Oval Office address on Wednesday night. In a joint statement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel expressed disproval of the U.S. move:
"The European Union disapproves of the fact that the US decision to improve a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation."
There's no word whether the UK or Ireland was made aware of the decision prior to the public announcement by Pence.
Expect flights from London and Dublin to be quite full over the next couple days, ahead of the Monday evening restriction. Remember, Schengen Area, Irish, and British citizens are not banned from the USA. Rather, those non-resident aliens who have been in the Schengen Area, Ireland, or the UK over the last 14-days will not be allowed in.
I'm heading for London as we speak. I'll report firsthand on what Heathrow is like tomorrow...
> Read More: USA Bans European Travel For 30 Days
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