As the coronavirus continues to spread and raise fears in China and around the world, airlines are being forced to decide whether to continue their current flight schedule or suspend flights to the country, according to a report in Global Times.
Due to a significant decline in demand for travel to China, United Airlines is suspending a total of 24 round-trip flights between our hub cities and Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong beginning Saturday through February 9, said the US airline in a statement sent to the Global Times.
“We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops and will adjust our schedule as needed,” United said.
Apart from United, other airlines were also adjusting their schedules due to the spread of coronavirus cases stemming from Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei Province, the report said.
Air Canada said it is canceling some of its 33 weekly flights to China, according to a report in the Toronto Star.
“We are cancelling select flights to China to better match capacity with expected demand,” wrote a spokesperson with the airline to the Star. “Air Canada currently operates 33 flights a week to China and the resulting capacity reduction is relatively small.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely and will adjust accordingly.”
Seoul-based Asiana Airlines posted on its Weibo account that it will suspend the flights from Incheon to Guilin, capital of South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Changsha, the capital of Central China’s Hunan Province for nearly two months effective early February, the report said.
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways released a notice through its Weibo handle stating it will gradually reduce capacity between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland from Thursday to the end of March in line with government directive and the market demand, the report said.
China has suspended trips of all tour agencies, including outbound ones effective Monday to contain the spread of the virus.