Coronavirus Scare: IndiGo, Air India suspend flights between India and China
New Delhi, Jan 29: IndiGo airlines said on Wednesday that due to the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, it has decided to suspend its flights on the Bengaluru-Hong Kong route from February 1 and on the Delhi-Chengdu route from February 1 to 20.
Similarly, Air India spokesperson said the national carrier is suspending its flights on Delhi-Shanghai route from January 31 to February 14. Meanwhile IndiGo also clarified that for now, it will continue to operate the Kolkata-Guangzhou flight which it is "monitoring on a daily basis".
"And for our operating crew, we are ensuring that they return to India on the inbound flights without any layover in China," the low-cost carrier said in a statement.
Coronavirus: Indians stuck in China will have to mandatory undergo 14-day quarantine on arrival
According to a source, India's largest airline -- Indigo -- has also told its crew members - who are working on flights connecting India with East Asian countries like Thailand and Singapore - to wear N95 masks at all times when they are on ground. "However, these crew members have been asked not to wear the mask when they are flying.
They have also been told to avoid public places, meat from unverified sources and uncooked meat in East Asian cities. They have also been told to wash their hands frequently," the source added.
According
to
an
Air
India
official,
all
crew
members
working
on
flights
between
India
and
South
East
Asia
have
been
asked
to
wear
N95
masks.
In
India,
many
people
are
under
observation
in
hospitals
for
suspected
coronavirus
infection
including
in
Maharashtra,
Goa,
Odisha
and
the
national
capital.
People
returning
to
the
country
after
visiting
China
are
being
regularly
screened
for
the
deadly
virus
at
airports
across
the
country.
Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from common cold to acute respiratory syndromes. The virus, which has killed 132 people and affected at least 6,000 others in China, is a novel strain not seen before.
In its statement, IndiGo said on Wednesday, "After carefully assessing the current coronavirus situation in China, IndiGo is taking some safety measures for its customers, crew and staff.
Due to China travel restrictions, we have seen a high number of cancellations from China on our Delhi-Chengdu route and vice versa." "Therefore, we are suspending our flights between Delhi and Chengdu from February 1 until February 20. We are also suspending our Bengaluru- Hong Kong flight effective February 1," it added.
The low-cost carrier stated that these are purely temporary and precautionary measures. "We understand that these measures will cause inconvenience to our customers and we will be refunding the full amount to the impacted passengers," it clarified.
IndiGo added that it is in "close touch" with the "relevant government authorities" and "we thank them and our partners in China for all the help and support that they have extended so far".
2019-nCoV: Delhi tourist suspected of coronavirus admitted in Goa medical college
Air India has kept a 423-seater jumbo plane ready in Mumbai to airlift Indian citizens from Wuhan city in China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Wuhan is the capital of China's Hubei Province.
As India started the preparations to evacuate over 250 Indians, mostly students, stuck in the Hubei province, its embassy in Beijing said these nationals will have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine on their return.