- British Airways, the United Kingdom’s flagship airline, has canceled all direct flights to and from mainland China as the Wuhan coronavirus continues to spread.
- The company apologized for the inconvenience to its customers in a statement and said the move would go into “immediate effect.”
- A British Airways spokesperson told Business Insider that the airline is canceling flights for two days “while we assess the situation.”
- But according to Reuters, no direct flights to and from China are available on the airline’s website for January and February.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
British Airways, the United Kingdom’s flagship airline, has canceled all direct flights to and from mainland China as the Wuhan coronavirus continues to spread.
The company apologized for the inconvenience to its customers in a statement.
“We have suspended all flights to and from mainland China with immediate effect following advice from the [UK] Foreign Office against all but essential travel,” the company said.
“We apologize to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority,” the company said Wednesday. “Customers due to travel to or from China in the coming days can find more information on BA.com.”
A British Airways spokesperson told Business Insider that the airline is canceling flights for two days “while we assess the situation.”
But according to Reuters, no direct flights to and from China are available on the airline’s website for January and February.
Some airlines, including Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific and United Airlines, have reduced the number of flights to Chinese cities.
The outbreak originated in Wuhan, China, located in the Hubei province, and has killed 132 people and infected more than 6,000. As of Tuesday, the virus has spread to at least 16 other countries.
Several countries, including the US, UK, and Canada, have warned against all nonessential travel to China and Hubei province.
“If you’re in this area and able to leave, you should do so,” the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said on Monday.
Several large foreign and Chinese corporations, including McDonald’s, Ikea, and French carmakers Peugeot Citroen and Renault are temporarily shutting down operations and evacuating employees from the area.
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