Qantas and Air NZ suspend China flights due to coronavirus curbs

Qantas and Air New Zealand said Saturday they were suspending direct flights from their countries to mainland China in response to travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. The Australian national carrier’s direct flights from Sydney to Beijing and Sydney to Shanghai will be halted from Feb. 9 until March 29, it said in a statement published Saturday. Air New Zealand said its Auckland to Shanghai service would be paused during the same time as the Qantas flights. Qantas said flights from Australia to Hong Kong would not be impacted by the change, it said, as it also warned the February 9 date would be reviewed and could be brought forward depending on demand from customers. The decision was made after Singapore and the US Friday announced toughened measures to enter their countries for people who had recently traveled through mainland China, Qantas added. “These entry restrictions pose significant logistical challenges for rostering crew to operate mainland services, leading to the need to temporarily suspend these flights,” the airline said. Air New Zealand Chief Operational Integrity and Standards Officer Captain David Morgan said the decision was made as a result of the travel restrictions and a decline in forward bookings for the next two months.<br/>