Airline British Airways has decided to suspend all direct flights between the United Kingdom (UK) and China amidst the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
British Airways announced the suspension of all flights to and from mainland China in a statement released on Wednesday. In the statement, the British airline said: "We have suspended all flights to and from mainland China with immediate effect following advice from the Foreign Office against all but essential travel."
On Tuesday, UK's Foreign Office issued a warning against traveling to mainland China in all but essential cases. The new coronavirus, also known as 2019-nCoV, is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, and spread into more than a dozen nations globally, including the US, Japan, Germany and France.
While most of the cases have a direct link to Wuhan, one confirmed case involved a German man who had not been to China, indicating human-to-human transmission. The Chinese government has effectively quarantined approximately 60 million people by placing numerous cities under partial or full lockdown.
The airline's website states that British Airways operates direct flights from London Heathrow to Beijing and Shanghai. With the suspension announcement, those flights are now unavailable for booking online through February 29.
United Airlines' temporary flight reduction
The UK airline's decision comes after United Airlines temporarily reduced its schedule between the US and three cities in China.
In a statement, the US airline said that "significant decline in demand" has forced it to suspend flights from February 1 though February 8 between its US hubs and Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The 24 round trips affected by the reduction are between Hong Kong to San Francisco and Newark, Beijing to Washington Dulles, Chicago O'Hare and Newark, and Shanghai to San Francisco, Newark and Chicago O'Hare.
The airline said: "We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops and will adjust our schedule as needed."
