Coronavirus: Lufthansa suspends flights to China
Lufthansa has suspended all flights to mainland China until 9 February amid the coronavirus outbreaks.
The decision follows similar moves by other airlines in a bid to curb the spread of infection.
The cancellation of flights also affects flights run by Lufthansa’s subsidiaries Swiss and Australian Airlines. The airline said it would continue to fly to Hong Kong.
The death toll has risen to 132 people in China after 26 more people died in the last 24 hours. It has infected nearly 6,000 people.
The new strain of coronavirus has spread to Japan, Hong Kong, the US, Canada, France and Germany. So far there are no confirmed cases in the UK.
There have been four confirmed cases in Germany. All four came into contact with a Chinese colleague who had travelled to Germany for a training session and only began experiencing coronavirus symptoms on the flight back.
British Airways has also halted flights to Beijing and Shanghai for the next two days in a bid to curb the spread of infection.
It follows the Foreign Office’s guidance to avoid “all but essential travel” to mainland China.
“We have suspended all flights to and from mainland China with immediate effect following advice from the Foreign Office against all but essential travel,” a British Airways spokesperson said.
“We apologise to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority.”
Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines announced yesterday that it was halting flights to mainland China, following government directives that restricts travel.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said the Foreign Office is working to repatriate UK citizens from the Hubei province, where the outbreak began.
Around 200 British citizens stranded in Wuhan and the surrounding area are set to be evacuated in the coming days.
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