Delta, American stop all flights between US, China
US carriers join international airlines amid virus outbreak
NEW YORK — Delta Air Lines and American Airlines said Friday that they will suspend all flights between the U.S. and China, making them the first U.S.based airlines to do so and joining several international carriers that have stopped flying to China as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread.
United Airlines announced it will suspend flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu but continue flights to Hong Kong.
American said it will stop flying to China starting Friday and running through March 27. Delta plans to wait until Feb. 6 to suspend China operations to help travelers there leave the country, then stop the flights through April 30.
United said its action would run until March 28. On Thursday, United had announced plans to suspend most of its China routes but continue a few.
All three carriers said they were responding to a sharp drop in demand for the flights and Thursday’s U.S. State Department advisory telling Americans not to travel to China because of the outbreak. International experts have labeled the coronavirus a global public-health emergency.
American was under extra pressure after the union representing its pilots sued to halt the flights and told its members not to operate flights to China because of the health risks. The largest flight attendants’ union also urged the U.S. carriers to stop flying to China.
Several major international airlines, including Air France, British Airways and Scandinavian Airlines, had already suspended service to China.
As the number of flights in and out of China dwindles, passengers on the planes that are still flying face an eerie scene.
On a flight from Shanghai to New York, nobody spoke for fear of spreading germs. Flight attendants donned masks to serve drinks to passengers, who were also wearing masks. A woman who flew 14 hours from Shanghai to New York said she changed her white face mask every four hours to make sure it was clean.
On a flight from Amsterdam to China, frightened passengers protested when they realized that a man from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, would be on the plane, said Chris Van Heesch, a 50-year old from the Netherlands. In the end, the man was allowed to fly.
John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York resembled a hospital corridor where everyone from passengers to luggage handlers wore face masks.
During past outbreaks, including SARS in 2003, U.S. airlines reduced flights to China but did not stop them completely. That outbreak caused Asia-related revenue among U.S. carriers to fall by 20% to 40%, although business recovered, according to an analysis by J.P. Morgan.
Of the three biggest U.S. airlines, United is most exposed to a downturn in Asia traffic, with 12% of its revenue tied to the region, including Japan and Australia, the J.P. Morgan analysts calculated. About 6% of Delta’s revenue and 4% of American’s comes from the region.