Airlines suspend China flights over coronavirus
This July 17, 2019, file photo shows American Airlines planes at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. The pilots' union at American Airlines filed a lawsuit on Jan. 30, 2020, to block the carrier from flying to China and told members not to operate flights there because of the spreading coronavirus outbreak. AP
Airlines have started suspending flights to China in the wake of a new coronavirus outbreak, which as of Friday had killed 213 people. Here's what we know so far.
AIR CANADA
Air Canada said on Jan. 28 it was cancelling 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 cancelling its Mumbai-Delhi-Shanghai flight from Jan. 31 to Feb. 14.
AIR NEW ZEALAND
Air New Zealand said on Jan. 31 it was temporarily reducing flights between Auckland and Shanghai to four return services a week from Feb. 18 to March 31 rather than the usual daily flights.
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
The largest U.S. carrier said it would suspend flights from Los Angeles to Beijing and Shanghai from Feb. 9 to March 27.
BRITISH AIRWAYS
BA said on Jan. 30 it had cancelled 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
The U.S. airline said on Jan. 29 it was reducing flights to China to 21 per week from 42, starting Feb. 6 through April 30.
EGYPTAIR
Egypt's flag carrier said on Jan. 30 it would suspend all flights to and from China starting Feb. 1.
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 centre, which told Reuters earlier in the day that flights to China had been suspended.
FINNAIR
Finland's Finnair said on Jan. 28 it would suspend its flights to Nanjing and Beijing until the end of March after China suspended international group travel from the country.
Finnair will suspend its three weekly flights between Helsinki and Beijing Daxing between Feb. 5 and March 29 and its two weekly flights between Helsinki and Nanjing between Feb. 8 and March 29.
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.
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.
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.
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.
UNITED AIRLINES
Chicago-based United said it would implement a second phase of flight cancellations between its hub cities in the United States and Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai, resulting in 332 additional roundtrips being called off through March 28.
The cancellations will reduce the carrier's daily departures for mainland China and Hong Kong to four daily departures from 12.
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 cancelled 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.
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. (Reuters)