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Coronavirus: British Airways suspends flights to and from China

29 Jan 2020

British Airways has suspended all direct flights to and from mainland China because of the coronavirus outbreak, the airline has said.

It comes after the UK Foreign Office advised against all but essential travel to the country. The virus has caused more than 100 deaths, spreading across China and to at least 16 other countries. Hundreds of foreign nationals have been evacuated from the city of Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak. The UK government is arranging to evacuate Britons from Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province, with up to 300 British people thought to be in the area. Australia plans to quarantine its 600 returning citizens for two weeks on Christmas Island - some 2,000km (1,200 miles) from the mainland. Japan, the US and other EU countries are also repatriating their citizens. British Airways, which operates daily flights to Shanghai and Beijing from Heathrow, announced the suspension of flights to and from mainland China "with immediate effect". A statement said: "We apologise to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority." BBC PICTURE- GETTY IMAGES


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