British Airways suspends bookings for China flights after coronavirus warnings

BA.com, the airline's website, shows no direct flights to China are available in January and February. Picture Leon Lestrade. African News Agency. ( ANA ).

BA.com, the airline's website, shows no direct flights to China are available in January and February. Picture Leon Lestrade. African News Agency. ( ANA ).

Published Jan 29, 2020

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British Airways has suspended bookings on its website for direct flights from London to Beijing and Shanghai until March, after warnings over travel to China due to the coronavirus outbreak.

BA.com, the airline's website, shows no direct flights to China are available in January and February. A spokeswoman for the airline said on Wednesday it was "assessing the situation".

Britain on Tuesday advised against "all but essential" travel to mainland China due to the coronavirus outbreak.

According to the Daily Mail, BA suspended the flights to protect staff and passengers from the killer virus. 

A spokesman said: 'We apologise to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority. Customers due to travel to or from China in the coming days can find more information on BA.com'.

Daily Mail also reported that United Airlines also cut 24 flights. It also revealed that the White House may stop all US-China flights completely to stop the virus spreading. 

Earlier this week, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advised against all travel to Hubei Province due to the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak. 

On a statement issued on the GOV.UK website, The FCO advised against all but essential travel to the rest of mainland China (not including Hong Kong and Macao). 

“The Chinese government continue to impose further restrictions on movement within China in response to the coronavirus outbreak. It may become harder over the coming weeks for those who wish to leave China to do so. If you feel that you may want to leave China soon, you should consider making plans to do so before any further restrictions may be imposed,” the statement revealed. 

Reuters/Daily Mail/UK.Gov

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