BA suspends all flights to and from China
British Airways has suspended all direct flights to and from mainland China due to coronavirus
This follows the UK Foreign Office (FCO) warning against all but essential travel to China. British Airways (BA) said: “We apologise to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority.”
The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority
The FCO has also warned that the Chinese Government is imposing further restrictions on movement. It said: "It may become harder over the coming weeks for those who wish to leave China to do so."
Britons in Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei Province will soon be evacuated. The FCO said that those who want to leave should contact the British consulate before 11:00 local time today (Wednesday 29 January). Around 300 British people are believed to be in the area.
Speaking to BBC News, travel journalist Simon Calder said: "My estimate is that there are around 10,000 holidaymakers in China at the moment and many thousands more who are on business or living as expatriates. The Foreign Office is being clear that it is not overly concerned with people who are there at the moment, it is more that they want to manage the scale of any possible problems. At the moment people can fly freely in and out of Beijing and Shanghai - the Foreign Office appears to be concerned that cities like that could be closed at short notice."
Calder also said that anyone who travels to China against Foreign Office advice risks invalidating their insurance.
Other airlines have also cancelled flights to China, including United Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Indonesia’s Lion Air and Russia’s Urals Airlines, while other airlines are implementing measures to reduce virus spread, including Taiwan’s China Airlines which is asking passengers to bring their own drinking bottles and Singapore Airlines which is requesting that crew wear masks on China flights.