sky

A Korean Air flight attendant has emerged as the first instance of a cabin crew member testing positive for the coronavirus since it first broke out of the Wuhan city epicentre in January. Citing information from the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the carrier states that the flight attendant was on the same flight as a group of South Koreans who were diagnosed upon return from a pilgrimage to Israel. KCDC is conducting contact tracing and working with other authorities for a thorough epidemiological survey. South Korea is now the worst-hit outside of mainland China, after the number of coronavirus cases surged last week. It has raised its highest alert for infectious diseases, while an increasing number of countries are imposing travel restrictions to and from the country. <br/>

Delta Air Lines is reducing flights to South Korea while Hawaiian Airlines will suspend them entirely, as airlines deal with growing concern about the spread of the new virus beyond China. Delta said Wednesday that it will suspend flights between Seoul and Minneapolis after Saturday and running through April 30. Delta also said it will reduce flights from Seoul to Atlanta, Detroit and Seattle to 5 times a week. The airline said last fall that it was operating about 28 flights per week on those routes. Delta will also delay the start of new flights between Seoul Incheon and Manila. Instead of beginning March 29, the launch has been pushed back to May 1. Hawaiian Airlines said it will suspend flights between Honolulu and Seoul starting next Monday and running through April 30. <br/>