British Airways suspends direct flights to China over coronavirus outbreak

British Airways has suspended direct flights to China over the coronavirus outbreak.

A search of the airline’s website on Wednesday showed that there are no booking options for flights to Beijing and Shanghai with the airline providing flight connection options.

“We have suspended all flights to and from mainland China with immediate effect following advice from the Foreign Office against all but essential travel,” the airline’s spokesperson told The Telegraph UK.

“Flights are currently suspended until Monday, February 3rd as we continually review our schedule according to advice from the authorities.

“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.”

British Airways is the 7th airline to take precautionary measures.

Cathay Pacific and Air Canada recently announced a reduction in the number of flights operated to China.

Lion Air, an Indonesian airline, has temporarily suspended flights to 15 Chinese cities and Russia’s Urals Airlines suspended some services on European routes popular with Chinese tourists.

United Airlines said it cancelled 24 flights to Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong because of low demand while Virgin Atlantic is offering passengers the opportunity to cancel and rebook flights at no cost.

Chinese authorities, on Tuesday, confirmed that 106 people have died as a result of the outbreak and 4,515 cases reported in mainland China.

Cases of the disease have been confirmed in Australia, Cambodia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, US and Vietnam.