Delta Air Lines and American Airlines are temporarily suspending some flights between US airports and Milan due to the virus, the two carriers announced on Monday.

Delta is suspending flights between New York’s JFK International Airport and Milan Malpensa, the largest airport in northern Italy and a major hub for Alitalia, the airline announced in a statement on Sunday.

Delta’s last New York-Milan flight took off on Monday, while the last flight in the opposite direction is scheduled for Tuesday.

The suspension is set to be lifted on May 1 or 2.

Delta added that it has delayed its Venice service launch, but flights between Rome and Atlanta were not affected.

American Airlines said late on Saturday that it was suspending flights between New York and Milan as well as between Miami and Milan until April 25, due to a “reduction in demand”.

Both airlines said passengers will have a choice of rebooking on a later flight or being reimbursed.

Several European airlines have already cut the number of flights to and from Italy.

Airlines Easyjet, Wizz Air, and British Airways announced on Thursday that they have cancelled numerous flights to Italy due to “reduced demand”.

Ryanair announced on Monday it will be reducing the frequency of some routes by up to 25 per cent amid the outbreak, particularly affecting flights to and from Italy.

Turkish Airlines cancelled all flights to Italy from the beginning of March, while Brussels Airlines has also cut flights to some Italian airports by 30 per cent.

Airline shares have plummeted since last week, with easyJet falling 30 per cent, IAG slipping 32 per cent and both United Airlines and Lufthansa down a quarter.

Lombardy, which includes Milan, and Veneto are the two regions worst hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

The most-affected Italian airports are those in the northern cities of Milan, Bologna, Bergamo, Venice and Turin.

On Friday, Italy’s foreign minister pleaded with tourists and business people not to turn their backs on Italy over the crisis.

Italy’s tourism industry says it is now experiencing the “biggest crisis in recent history” amid mass cancellations of hotel and travel bookings due to coronavirus fears.

As alarm grows, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio condemned “false reports circulating abroad” about panic in the country, saying they were doing “more damage” than the virus itself.

“If schools are open, if our children are going to school, tourists and business people can come,” Di Maio said.

“Out of over 7000 towns in Italy, just over a dozen are affected by this epidemic.”