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| Passengers wearing masks to prevent contracting coronavirus walk past a thermal camera upon their arrival at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, Jan. 3, 2020. Reuters |
The outbreak and spread of a deadly new coronavirus has disrupted 65 percent of South Korean airlines' flight services to China, industry sources said Tuesday.
As of Monday, industry leader Korean Air Lines Co. and seven other carriers have temporarily suspended 41 out of their 100 routes to the neighboring country due to the coronavirus scare.
The airlines have also decided to reduce flights on 24 routes to Chinese cities, including the capital Beijing.
Korean Air, the country's national flag carrier, recently decided to suspend eight out of its 31 Chinese routes, while cutting flights on 14 routes.
No. 2 industry player Asiana Airlines Inc. has suspended four routes and cut flights on eight routes.
Three South Korean low-cost carriers ― Air Seoul Inc., Eastar Jet and Jin Air ― have suspended a combined 11 routes to China.
Another budget carrier, Air Busan Co., has decided to suspend seven out of its nine routes to China, while reducing flights on one route. Jeju Air has suspended all seven routes to China temporarily, with T'way halting five out of six routes.
The flight disruptions come amid mounting concerns over the potentially deadly virus that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
South Korea has 15 confirmed cases of the virus so far, while China's death toll has reached more than 420.
On Tuesday, South Korea imposed a temporary ban on the entry of foreigners who have traveled to Hubei Province over the past two weeks in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Seoul is also looking at raising its travel alert level to a "withdrawal recommendation" for all of mainland China. Currently, South Korea has a withdrawal recommendation, the second highest in its four-tier travel warning system, only for Hubei province.
In light of that, industry watchers said, South Korean airlines may further suspend or reduce their flights to Chinese cities down the road.
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