oneworld

Finnair said it would suspend its routes to Nanjing and Beijing's Daxing airport until the end of March, the first European airline to cancel flights to mainland China amid growing fears about the spread of a new flu-like virus. The move comes after Beijing suspended international group travel from the country as a part of its efforts to control the outbreak of the coronavirus, the airline said. Tuesday, the death toll rose to 106 people. It will affect the airline's 3 weekly flights between Helsinki and the Chinese capital Beijing and 2 weekly routes to Nanjing in Jiangsu province. They have a higher proportion of group travellers on them than its other routes. It estimated that the direct financial impact of group cancellations, ticket refunds and flight cancellations for February will be moderate. <br/>

Cathay Pacific has announced it will cut its flights to and from mainland China by at least 50% in the latest sign of how the coronavirus epidemic is affecting companies and industries. The airline said its decision to cut flights between Jan 30 and the end of March was the result of a plan announced Tuesday by the Hong Kong govt and also due to “market demand”. “We are actively reviewing our flight schedules at the moment and will be updating them progressively over the next 48 hours,” Cathay said Tuesday. Cathay’s move comes after Hong Kong cut all its transport links with China in an effort to isolate itself from the deadly virus. According to its latest set of published accounts, just under half of Cathay’s revenues come from its Hong Kong and China business. <br/>