London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 30, 2025

China coronavirus: major airlines pull plug on services to Hong Kong and mainland as US considers stopping all flights

China coronavirus: major airlines pull plug on services to Hong Kong and mainland as US considers stopping all flights

Lufthansa, British Airways, Lion Air and Air Canada cancel all flights to mainland while host of other carriers reduce services. United Airlines among those cutting Hong Kong route as virus death toll climbs

China was becoming increasingly isolated on Wednesday as major airlines rushed to pull flights to the mainland, while the death toll from the Wuhan coronavirus continued to grow.

More than 130 people are now known to have died from the disease and the number of people infected in China has risen above 6,000, a higher figure than the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) epidemic in 2003.

The Lufthansa Group, British Airways, Indonesia’s Lion Air Group and Air Canada have cancelled all flights to the mainland, while the likes of United Airlines, American Airlines, IndiGo, Finnair, Delta Air Lines and Jetstar Asia have drastically reduced their services.

The impact was felt in Hong Kong too, with Virgin Atlantic initially telling passengers with flights booked to, through or from its Chinese destinations, including Hong Kong, they could not complete their journeys. Virgin said it would affect travellers with bookings until February 29.

However, the airline then changed its stance and said it would continue to operate to Shanghai and Hong Kong, but gave passengers the option of rebooking or getting a refund if they did not want to fly.

Elsewhere, officials in the United States are said to be considering whether to stop all flights between the US and China. It is unclear if Hong Kong will be included in that decision.

American announced it would cancel its Los Angeles flights to Beijing and Shanghai from February 9 until March 27, citing a sharp drop in demand. Its existing flights to China from Dallas would continue as would services to Hong Kong.

Lufthansa, which includes its sister airlines Swiss International Air Lines, and Austrian, and accounts for more than 100 return flights a week, said it would halt all mainland China flights until February 9.

BA, which operates daily services to Beijing and Shanghai, said the cancellations were in effect until January 31, although its website appears to show they are not taking any bookings for direct flights to the mainland until March 1.

The move came after the British Foreign Office warned against “all but essential travel” to mainland China, while advising against all travel to Hubei province.

Air Canada said it would stop all flights to mainland China from Thursday until February 29. For Lion Air, the decision affects dozens of flights on 15 routes.

More than one airline has admitted a sharp drop in demand prompted the move, as carriers offered free refunds to people reluctant to travel to China, while a ban on outbound mainland tour groups was having an impact.



United, which has cut 24 flights, including to Hong Kong, until February 8, conceded it had suffered “a significant decline in the demand for travel to China”. Jetstar, which suspended three routes in the mainland, said it was hit by customers “choosing not to travel” and a temporary ban placed on outbound China tour groups.

Delta Air Lines, which has a 5 per cent stake in state carrier China Eastern, said it was halving flights between the US and China from 42 to 21, between February 6 and April 30.

The Netherlands’ KLM and Air France said they would not stop flights to China, but changes to their schedules would last until at least February 29.

KLM said Chengdu, Hangzhou and Xiamen flights were suspended. Shanghai and Beijing would be operated once a day each. Air France’s Wuhan flights remain suspended.

Spain’s Iberia signalled it would operate no more Shanghai flights from Madrid for the foreseeable future after suspending ticket sales until early March.

By the end of Wednesday, the focus had shifted to the airlines which had yet to reduce services or cancel China flights outright.
The spread of the virus across China, in the worst threat since Sars is poised to derail the mainland’s momentum as one of the biggest air travel markets, which has contributed massively to the runaway growth of international air travel.

Between January 23 and 27, the number of flights that did not operate amounted to several thousand flights out of more than 75,000, according to aviation data company Cirium, with that figure set to expand significantly after Wednesday’s news.

Hong Kong ordered all airlines to cut flights to and from the mainland by half on Tuesday.

In a further bid to combat the spread of the disease, Cathay Pacific said it would overhaul its in-flight service to limit contact between staff and passengers on mainland China routes.

The airline is to offer all-in-one disposable snack and drink bags for economy and premium economy travellers – or meals on one tray in business and first class – while withdrawing comforts such as pillows, blankets and magazines. The changes are to take effect from Thursday, until further notice.

“This modified service offering is strictly a temporary measure designed to further strengthen our health and safety protocols in light of the evolving situation regarding coronavirus cases in mainland China,” Cathay said in a statement.

More foreign governments have recommended all but essential travel to China, prompting some airlines to act, while others admitted the spread of the virus had seen passengers reschedule or cancel travel, leading to near empty planes flying in and out of the mainland.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
×