Wuhan virus: SIA, SilkAir and Scoot slash flights to China

SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines' budget carrier Scoot is suspending flights from Singapore to 11 cities in mainland China on Friday (Jan 31) due to the growing scale of the Wuhan virus.

The budget airline will also be reducing flights to eight other cities.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) and SilkAir will also be reducing capacity on selected routes to mainland China in February, subject to regulatory approvals.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Scoot announced that the airline would be making adjustments to its network in China, Hong Kong and Macau "due to weak demand and operational constraints arising from the growing scale of the novel coronavirus outbreak".

Scoot will be suspending flights between Singapore and 11 cities in mainland China - Harbin, Hangzhou, Shenyang, Xi'an, Changsha, Nanchang, Zhengzhou, Ningbo, Jinan, Nanning and Wuxi - from early February until end-March 2020.

Affected customers booked on these flights will receive a full refund of unused itinerary value via their original mode of payment.

Flight frequencies on Scoot will be reduced for eight cities - Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Kunming, Nanjing, Qingdao, Tianjin and Macau - from Saturday to March 2.

Some flights between Singapore and Guangzhou, Nanjing, Macau and Hong Kong will also be cancelled.

Affected customers will receive e-mails from Scoot with further information on refunds and rebooking options.

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Meanwhile, SIA and SilkAir will also reduce flights to mainland China in February, subject to regulatory approvals.

In a Facebook post on Friday, SIA announced that the airline as well as SilkAir would be cancelling some flights between Singapore and cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Chengdu and Chongqing.

Affected customers will be notified and re-accommodated onto other flights, SIA said.

SIA currently operates 56 weekly flights to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, while SilkAir operates 36 weekly flights to Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Xiamen. Scoot currently operates 100 weekly flights to 18 points in China, excluding Wuhan.

British Airways has suspended all flights to and from China until March, citing safety concerns for its crew and customers.

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United Airlines has also said it was cancelling some flights to China as demand plunges and global companies tell their employees not to travel on deepening fears over the spread of the virus.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.