On Friday, Delta and American Airlines temporarily canceled all of their China flights as the Coronavirus outbreak cases in the country top 9,600.
What We Know:
- Late Thursday, the U.S. State Department elevated its China travel advisory level to 4, recommending that Americans do not travel there. That change followed the World Health Organization’s declaration of a global health emergency over Coronavirus.
- American Airlines cited the State Department’s updated travel advisory in suspending its U.S.-China routes through March 28. The airline said it would contact the affected customers directly to help them make alternate arrangements.
- Atlanta-based Delta Airlines said it would suspend its U.S-China flights from Feb. 6 through April 30. The final China-bound flight is scheduled to depart Feb. 3.
- Delta said in a statement on Friday, “The airline will continue to monitor the situation closely and may make additional adjustments as the situation continues to evolve.”
- Late Thursday, the union representing 28,000 flight attendants at American Airlines called for the airline and the federal government to ban China flights.
- The Association of Professional Flight Attendants’ call followed a lawsuit filed Thursday in Dallas by the Allied Pilots Association, to suspend the carrier’s flights between the U.S. and China.
- American Airline Pilots Union called on its members to decline assignments to fly China, citing “unacceptable risk”.
- United Airlines, which suspended 356 of its China flights, is the only U.S. carrier still offering flights to China.
- Compared to SARS, which killed 774 people, 231 have died in the new coronavirus outbreak. All those deaths have been in China.
Other airlines that have stopped their flights to mainland China include Air France KLM SA, British Airways, Germany’s Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic.
