Coronavirus: Who’s NOT flying in or out of China [update #2]

Airline and government reaction to the outbreak of Coronavirus have been all over the place. Some have acted swiftly, while others have been tardier. Some have suspended/cancelled all flights to China, while others have cancelled some routes and maintained others.

Where are we up to?

So, I thought it might be a good idea to summarise where the major players stand. Here are a select few airlines that fly to Australia:

• Qantas
  Has suspended all flights on Qantas metal to China. That means flights out of Sydney to Shanghai and Beijing (which they were set to cancel later in February anyway) will be suspended from 9 February. If you already have a booking, you will need to fill out this Waiver Form. You can find general information about the effect of recent Australian Immigration Changes and Qantas here.
• British Airways
  Suspended flights from 29 January through to the end of February. This means the suspension of flights between London and Shanghai, an Beijing. You will find more British Airways information here.
• Qatar
  suspended flights as of 3 February until further notice. Qatar Chinese destinations included: Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. Travel Advisory and advice about mainland China flights.
• American Airlines
  31 March, the suspension began, but it is currently only through until 27 March. American flies out of Los Angeles and Dalles to Beijing and Shanghai. It had already foreshadowed cuts to China flights out of Los Angeles, so only brought these forward by a week or so. Travel alerts here. They have just extended their suspension of LA-Hong Kong flights to 27 March.
• Delta Airlines
  From 6 February to April 30, all China flights are suspended. Delta services Beijing and Shanghai from Atlanta, Detroit, Seattle and Los Angeles. Full information available here.
• United Airlines
  Last flight from china to be 5 February. Suspended until 28 March. They had suspended selected flights earlier. [Update:] United has just suspended all Hong Kong flights between 8 and 20 February (UA877 and UA862 between San Francisco and Hong Kong). Detailed information on the Presidential Proclamation and travel restrictions here.
• Virgin Australia
  Has suspended all flights – in fact, its basically cancelling the route Sydney-Hong Kong as of 2 March

Here is an alphabetical list of most airlines flying to China that have announced bans, suspensions or cancellations of flights:

• Aeroflot
  Announced suspension of flights on 31 January
• Air Canada
  Announced on 28 January that it was cancelling select flights to China
• Air China
  Have suspended flights to Australia: Chengdu–Sydney route cancelled from 3 February to March 28. Beijing–Sydney and Beijing–Melbourne routes cancelled from 5 February to 29 February.
• Air France
  From 30 January, all flights suspended to mainland China until 9 February.
• Air India
  Cancelled all flights to Delhi-Shanghai from 31 January to 14 February
• Air New Zealand
  Auckland-Shanghai flights suspended from 9 February to 29 March
• Air Seoul
  28 January – all fights to China suspended
• Air Tanzania
  Was going to start flying to China in February – plans postponed
• Austrian
  Flights suspended until end February
• Cathay Pacific
  reducing capacity to mainland China by 50% or more between 30 January and end of March. [UPDATE:] CX have cut 90% of flights to mainland China, and 30% overall on their complete route network in February and March.
• Egypt Air
  All flights to China suspended as of 1 February
• El Al
  Flights suspended on 30 January to 25 March.
• Emirates and Etihad
  Suspended all flights between China and the UAE except to Beijing as of 3 February until further notice
• Ethiopian Airlines
  It’s being reported by Reuters that there is contradictory information, but it looks like flights are suspended to China
• Finnair
  Flights cancelled from 6 Feb to 29 Feb
• Hainan Airlines
  flights suspended from Budapest and Chongqing between 7 Feb and 27 March
• Iberia
  Flights to Shanghai suspended as of 29 January
• Kenya Airways
  Flights suspended from 31 January until further notice
• Lion Air
  Suspending all flights from Indonesia to China from February
• LOT Polish Airlines
  Flights suspended until 9 February
• Lufthansa
  Including Swill and Austrian, suspension from 9 February through untile 28 February – flights to Beijing and Shanghai, but not Hong Kong.
• Oman Air
  Flights suspended from 2 February
• Pakistan
  suspended flights for 3 days, resuming flights from 3 February
• Philippine Airlines
  Reducing flights by more than 50%
• Royal Air Maroc
  Suspended all flights to China – a pity since it only launched a new route to Beijing on 16 January
• Rwandair
  Suspended flights from 31 January, with a review during February
• SAS
  Suspended flights to Beijing and Shanghai from 31 January to 9 February
• Saudia
  Flights to China suspended from 2 February
• Scoot
  Suspending all Singapore to China flights from 8 February
• Shanghai Airlines
  From 4 February to 28 March Budapest-Chengdu flights suspended. From 6 February to 26 March, Budapest-Xi’an flights suspended. Shanghai to Budapest flights continue.
• Singapore Airlines (& SilkAir)
  Reducing capacity to China, including the following destinations: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xiamen and Chongqing
• Turkish Airlines
  31 January – all china flights suspended until end of February
• Turkmenistan Airlines
  Flights suspended from 1 February
• UPS
  Have cancelled 22 flights, but for a bunch of reasons. No blanket suspension yet announced
• VietJet
  Suspended flights from 1 February.
• Vietnam Airlines
  Suspending flights this week – from 3 February.
• Virgin Atlantic
  Suspending flights to Shanghai for a fortnight starting 2 February

I can’t guarantee that all information is accurate, or that the above list is comprehensive. That’s because airlines policies are changing, and, you know, I’m not god. The list has been compiled from Airline websites, media releases, media reports, online reports, most notably, Reuters.

2PAXfly Takeout

While the airline response has been overwhelming, it is not uniform, and the motivations of crew safety, passenger need, passenger safety, and economics seem to be all mixed up, with different airlines demonstrating different priorities.

If you wish to travel to China, then presume that your favourite airline is not going in February, and then check the specifics with the airline.

If you are returning from China, then presume that boarding procedures will be delayed, with some airlines performing mini-isolations, Like Air China’s – arrive 8 hours before your flight to the USA – instruction to passengers.

I will try and keep this post updated with the most current information, and with links to individual Airline advice pages.