British Airways, Lufthansa, Other Carriers Suspending Or Reducing Flights To China Due To Virus Fears

Various global air carriers have suspended or reduced service to China over fears of the coronavirus outbreak which has caused 132 deaths and almost 6,000 infections.

British Airways said on Wednesday that it will cancels all flights to and from mainland China “with immediate effect.”

The decision followed an advisory by the Foreign Office to cut all but “essential travel” to China.

The airline apologized for the suspension but added that “the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority.”

British Airways typically operates daily flights to Shanghai and Beijing from London’s Heathrow Airport. It is unclear when these flights will resume.

U.K.-based Virgin Atlantic said its flights to Shanghai will continue to operate as scheduled.

On Tuesday, U.S. carrier United Airlines (UAL) suspended 24 U.S. flights to Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai between February 1 and February 8, due to low demand.

“We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops and will adjust our schedule as needed,” United said in a statement.

Germany's Lufthansa plans to cancels flights to China due to coronavirus, the Bild daily newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Air India, the national carrier of India, will suspend its flights on Delhi-Shanghai route from Jan. 31 to Feb. 14.

Indigo, an Indian budget carrier, will cancel all flights between Delhi and Chengdu from Feb. 1. However, its regular flight to Guangzhou will continue.

Air Canada said on Tuesday it will cancel select flights to China largely due to falling expected demand. Air Canada currently operates 33 flights a week to China and the capacity reduction will be relatively small.

As of Wednesday morning, Japan’s JAL airlines was operating flights to China.

Air France cancelled flights to Wuhan last week, but was still operating its 23 weekly flights to Beijing and Shanghai.

Hong Kong’s national carrier Cathay Pacific Airways decided on Tuesday to reduce by at least 50% the number of flights in and out of China between Jan. 30 and the end of March.

A little less than one half of Cathay’s revenues are generated by its Hong Kong and China business.

Cathay normally provides direct flights from Hong Kong to 26 cities in mainland China.

“We are actively reviewing our flight schedules at the moment and will be updating them progressively over the next 48 hours,” Cathay said on Tuesday.

Hong Kong has already cut high-speed rail and other cross-border train links to the mainland.

South Korea’s national carrier Korean Air has cancelled flights to Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus epidemic, at least through Mar. 27.

As of Wednesday morning, Korean Air was still operating flights to Beijing, Shanghai and other major Chinese cities.

Korean budget carrier Air Seoul also said it will suspend all flights to China.

Air Seoul operates the Zhangjiajie and Liny routes from Incheon. The company added that customers who purchased tickets to either of the Chinese destinations since Jan. 24 can cancel without incurring additional charges.

"We have received a lot of calls since the outbreak of the disease," an Air Seoul official said.

Other Korean airlines, including Jeju Air and Eastar Jet, are suspending services to China.

Indonesian budget airline Lion Air Group said on Wednesday it will suspend all flights to China from February. Lion Air has already suspended six flight routes from some Indonesian cities to China so far.

Lion Group spokesman Danang Mandala Prihantor said the suspension of flights will be gradually phased in and continue until further notice.

Finnair said Wednesday it will cancel its three weekly flights between Helsinki and Beijing Daxing International Airport between Feb. 5 and Mar. 29, as well as its two weekly flights between Helsinki and Nanjing between Feb. 8 and Mar. 29.

Finnair will continue to operate daily flights to Beijing Capital Airport and to Shanghai and twice a week to Guangzhou.

“These cancellations are needed to manage the impacts of the recent suspension of group travel by Chinese authorities, which have a pronounced impact on the load factors of our Beijing Daxing and Nanjing flights,” says Jaakko Schildt, chief operating officer, Finnair.

Kazakhstan said on Wednesday that it plans to suspend all flights to China and stop issuing visas to Chinese citizens. Kazakhstan, which is just west of China, used to operate 24 flights a week from to China, including a daily flight to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province

Jetstar Asia of Singapore said it will temporarily suspend flights to the Chinese cities of Hefei, Guiyang and Xuzhou and to Hong Kong.

“This decision was made in response to ongoing falling demand and the need to ensure we maintain the highest productivity of our fleet,” said Jetstar.