Airlines suspend China flights because of coronavirus
(Reuters) - Airlines are suspending flights to China in the wake of the new coronavirus outbreak.
The number of deaths from a coronavirus epidemic in China has risen by 46 to 259, the country's health authority said on Saturday, as the United States and other nations announced new border curbs on foreigners who have been in China.
Here is the latest on their plans (in alphabetical order):
AIR CANADA
Air Canada said on Jan. 28 it was canceling select flights to China.
AIR FRANCE
Air France said on Jan. 30 it suspended all scheduled flights to and from mainland China until Feb. 9.
AIR INDIA
Air India said it was canceling its Mumbai-Delhi-Shanghai flight from Jan. 31 to Feb. 14.
AIR NEW ZEALAND
Air New Zealand said on Feb. 1 it will suspend its Auckland-Shanghai service from Feb. 9 to March 29 due to travel restrictions affecting crew and a decline in forward bookings.
AIR SEOUL
South Korean budget carrier Air Seoul said on Jan. 28 it had suspended all flights to China.
AIR TANZANIA
Tanzania’s state-owned carrier said it would postpone its maiden flights to China. It had planned to begin charter flights to China in February.
AMERICAN AIRLINES
American Airlines said it will cancel flights to Beijing and Shanghai starting Jan. 31, and run through March 27, though it will continue to fly to Hong Kong.
BRITISH AIRWAYS
BA said on Jan. 30 it had canceled all flights to mainland China for a month.
CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific said it would progressively reduce capacity to and from mainland China by 50% or more from Jan. 30 to the end of March.
DELTA AIR LINES
Delta Air Lines accelerated earlier anounced suspensions: the last China-bound flights will leave on Feb. 1, and the last returning flights from China will leave China on Feb. 2.
EGYPTAIR
Egypt’s flag carrier said on Jan. 30 it would suspend all flights to and from China starting Feb. 1.
EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES
El Al Israel Airlines said on Jan. 30 it was suspending flights to Beijing until March 25. Israel’s Health Ministry said it will not allow flights from China to land at its airports.
ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES
The African carrier on Jan. 30 denied reports it had suspended all flights to China. The airline’s statement contradicted its passenger call center, which told Reuters earlier in the day that flights to China had been suspended.
ETIHAD AIRWAYS
Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways said passenger flights between Beijing and Nagoya, in Japan, had been temporarily suspended due to low travel demand.
FINNAIR
Finland’s Finnair said it was canceling all flights to mainland China between Feb. 6 and Feb. 29 and to Guangzhou between Feb. 5 and March 29.
HAINAN AIRLINES
China’s Hainan Airlines suspended its flights between Budapest, Hungary, and Chongqing from Feb. 7 until March 27, Budapest Airport said on its Faceook page.
KENYA AIRWAYS
Kenya Airways said on Jan. 31 it has suspended all flights to China until further notice.
LION AIR
Indonesia’s Lion Air Group said on Jan. 29 it would suspend all flights to China from February. The airline has suspended six flights from several Indonesian cities to China so far and will suspend the rest next month.
LOT POLISH AIRLINES
Polish carrier LOT said it had decided to temporarily suspend its flights to Beijing until Feb. 9.
LUFTHANSA
Germany’s Lufthansa said on Jan. 29 it was suspending Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airlines flights to and from China until Feb. 9. The airline continues to fly to Hong Kong, but it will stop taking bookings for flights to mainland China until the end of February.
PHILIPPINES AIRLINES
Philippine Airlines said it would cut the number of flights between Manila and China by more than 50%. Starting this month. It would continue to serve Filipinos and Chinese nationals returning from the Lunar New Year holidays.
QANTAS AIRWAYS
Australia’s Qantas said on Feb. 1 it was suspending direct flights to mainland China. The Australian national carrier’s direct flights from Sydney to Beijing and Sydney to Shanghai will be halted from Feb. 9 until March 29.
QATAR AIRWAYS
Qatar Airways said on Feb. 1 it will suspend flights to mainland China from Monday until further notice.
ROYAL AIR MAROC
Moroccan airline Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has temporarily suspended its direct flights to China, the company said on Jan. 30. RAM had on Jan. 16 launched a direct air route with three flights weekly between its Casablanca hub and Beijing.
RUSSIA
All Russian airlines, with the exception of national airline Aeroflot, will stop flying to China, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said.
RWANDAIR
Rwanda carrier RwandAir has halted flights to and from China until further notice, the airline said in a statement on Friday. The decision will be reviewed later in February, it said.
SAS
Nordic airline SAS said on Jan. 30 it has decided to suspend all flights to and from Shanghai and Beijing from Jan. 31 until Feb. 9.
SAS offers 12 regular weekly connections from and to Shanghai and Beijing.
SCOOT
Singapore airline Scoot said it was suspending all flights between Singapore and China from Feb. 8, media reported.
SHANGHAI AIRLINES
Shanghai Airlines said on Jan. 31 it would suspend its Chengdu-Budapest flight between Feb. 4 and March 28 and its Xi’an-Budapest flight between Feb. 6 and March 26 according to a statement on the website of the Budapest Airport operator.
The airline’s Shanghai-Budapest flight is unaffected.
SINGAPORE AIRLINES
Singapore Airlines Ltd said on Jan. 31 it would reduce capacity on some of its routes to mainland China in February.
The cuts include flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xiamen and Chongqing, some of which are flown by regional arm SilkAir. Its budget carrier Scoot is also cutting back on flights to China.
TURKISH AIRLINES
Turkey’s flag carrier said on Jan. 30 it would decrease frequency on scheduled flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xian between Feb. 5 and Feb. 29.
TURKMENISTAN AIRLINES
Turkmenistan Airlines, the Central Asian nation’s state carrier, said on Feb. 1 it had suspended flights to and from Beijing.
UNITED AIRLINES
Chicago-based United announced cancellations, saying last flights out of mainland China will be Feb. 5, running through March 28.
United had previously suspended 24 U.S. flights to Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai between Feb. 1 and Feb. 8 because of a significant drop in demand.
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC
UPS has canceled 22 China flights, as a result of the Wuhan quarantines and normal manufacturing closures due to the Lunar New Year holiday, UPS Chief Executive David Abney said on Jan. 30. He did not specify how many flights cancellations were due to the virus.
VIETJET
Vietnam’s Vietjet will suspend all flights to and from China from Feb. 1, the company said on Jan. 31. Vietnam Airlines will suspend some flights to China.
VIETNAM AIRLINES
Vietnam Airlines will suspend its flights to destinations in China next week over coronavirus concerns, the company said on Friday.
VIRGIN ATLANTIC
Virgin Atlantic said on Jan. 30 it would suspend its daily operations to Shanghai for two weeks from Feb. 2. It cited declining demand for flights and the safety of its customers and staff.