LONDON: British Airways has suspended all direct flights to and from mainland China after Britain warned against all but essential travel to the country due to the coronavirus outbreak.
BA.com, the airline’s website, shows no direct flights to China are available in January and February.
“We apologize to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority,” BA said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. “Customers due to travel to or from China in the coming days can find more information on BA.com.”
Britain on Tuesday advised against “all but essential” travel to mainland China due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The United States and Japan flew citizens out of the Chinese city at the epicentre of a new virus outbreak on Wednesday, as the death toll rose sharply to 132 and the first case appeared in the Middle East.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it is confident in China’s ability to contain the coronavirus, but concern is mounting as health authorities reported the number of confirmed cases had jumped by 1,459 to 5,974.
The number of deaths from the flu-like virus rose by 26 to 132, almost all in the province of Hubei, the capital of which is Wuhan, the city where the virus emerged last month in a wild animal market. The central province of about 60 million people is under virtual lockdown.
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