British Airways has suspended all its direct flights to mainland China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reports. “We apologise to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority,” the company said in an email. BA.com currently shows no direct flights to mainland China, although flights to Hong Kong are unaffected. The company said that flights will be suspended until it receives more information from British officials, according to Bloomberg.
The airline is not the first to have dropped some of its China flights. However, in the case of United Airlines, which announced it would be suspending some of its flights yesterday, the decision was taken due to a “significant decline in demand,” rather than specific safety concerns.
British Airways announced the cancellation of its flights in the wake of the British Foreign Office’s warning against all but essential travel to mainland China. The UK is arranging to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province as a result of the virus, which has resulted in 132 deaths in China. Over 6,000 people worldwide are currently thought to be infected, according to CNN.
