British Airways, United Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines are the latest airlines to cancel scheduled flights to China in response to the coronavirus outbreak, centred in Wuhan.
British Airways has suspended all direct flights to China until February 3. The move comes after the UK Foreign Office advised Britons against all non-essential travel to China.
A spokesperson for British Airways told the media that the airline is "urgently assessing the situation" and that it will “continually review our schedule according to advice from the authorities”:.
Virgin Atlantic, which is continuing to operate flights to mainland China as scheduled, but it is offering full refunds for passengers wishing to cancel their flights to Shanghai.
United Airlines has announced that it is cancelling dozens of China flights from February 1 to February 8, because of a “significant decline in demand”. United said in a statement that it will “continue to monitor the situation as it develops and will adjust our schedule as needed”.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also recommended against all nonessential travel to China. The Trump administration has announced plans to expand screenings for the virus from five to 20 US airports.
Air Canada has cancelled some flights to China to better manage the drop in demand.
American Airlines and Delta have not cancelled China flights, but they are allowed passengers to change or cancel bookings without fees.
Cathay Pacific states that it is “progressively” reducing the capacity of its flights to and from mainland China by 50% or more from January 30 until the end of March 2020. Hong Kong Airlines too is reducing flights between January 30 and February 11.
Hong Kong has put in place border control measures that includes this 50% reduction in flights to and from China, and the suspension of high-speed trains and ferries that cross the border.
Confirmed cases of the coronavirus have reached almost 6,000 with 132 deaths – this total exceeds the total of Sars cases in 2003-04. During the SARs outbreak, China to US travel declined ~67% in April 2003, report Cowen analysts, but recovered once the virus was contained. Cowen maintains that although it is difficult to compare the coronavirus outbreak with SARs given the vast differences in data reporting and government containment actions, the Wuhan virus, at almost 6,000 confirmed cases in a relatively short period, appears to be spreading significantly faster than the SARS outbreak, which had 8,098 confirmed cases over its lifespan.
“At its peak in May 2003, SARS devastated travel in affected regions, with air tickets and hotel stays down as much as 80-90%+ y/y. We think the new outbreak could have a similar impact in China if it continues to spread. However, the industry began recovering by June, with declines slowing, and growth ultimately resuming to pre-outbreak levels.”
Cases of the coronavirus have now been reported in 15 countries, including the US, Germany and France.