Airlines Suspend Flights to China as Coronavirus Spreads -- Update
January 31 2020 - 11:23AM
Dow Jones News
(Update includes Singapore Airlines, Finnair, KLM and updated
figures on coronavirus)
By Olivia Bugault
More major airlines around the world are reducing or grounding
flights to mainland China as the number of people infected by the
coronavirus in the country keeps growing, surpassing that of severe
acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, nearly two decades ago.
Shares in airlines worldwide have been hit by the coronavirus
health crisis, which will likely dent their revenues.
The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a
public-health emergency of international concern on Thursday, as
the death toll has increased to 213 people while almost 10,000
persons are infected, mainly in China.
DELTA: U.S. legacy carrier Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) said
Friday that it will temporarily suspend all U.S. flights to China
from Feb. 6 through April 30 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
AIR CANADA: Canadian flag carrier Air Canada (AC.T) has
cancelled its direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai as of Jan. 30
and until Feb. 29, a decision that followed a Canadian government
advisory to avoid non-essential travel to mainland China.
AMERICAN AIRLINES: U.S. carrier American Airlines Group Inc.
(AAL) has suspended its Shanghai and Beijing services from Los
Angeles from Feb. 9 to March 27, citing declining demand, but will
keep flying between Dallas-Fort Worth and China.
IAG: British Airways--owned by International Consolidated
Airlines Group SA (IAG.LN)--was the first global airline to
announce on Wednesday that it was suspending all its flights to
mainland China, while maintaining routes to Hong Kong. The carrier
said Thursday that flights were cancelled for a period of one
month. IAG's Spanish carrier Iberia has also canceled its flights
to China until the end of February.
SINGAPORE AIRLINES: Singapore Airlines Ltd. (C6L.SG) said Friday
that flights on dozens of routes to and from China will be canceled
through the end of February.
LUFTHANSA: The German carrier has grounded flights to the
country until Feb. 9. The group "offers a total of 54 regular
weekly connections from Germany, Switzerland and Austria to the
Chinese mainland," Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) said
Wednesday.
SAS: Scandinavian airline SAS AB (SAS.SK) said all flights to
and from Shanghai and Beijing will be suspended from Friday until
Feb. 9, citing the safety of its passengers and employees.
Among the numerous other airlines that took measures, Indonesian
low-cost airline Lion Air has stopped its routes to and from
mainland China, while Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.
(0293.HK) has been cutting back capacity to manage a drop-off in
demand. In Europe, Air France-KLM (AF.FR) and Finnair Oyj
(FIA1S.HE) have also grounded their flights.
Write to Olivia Bugault at olivia.bugault@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 31, 2020 11:08 ET (16:08 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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