American Airlines has suspended flights to Hong Kong through Feb. 20 due to weak demand, and United Airlines will do the same next weekend. Interest in travel to Hong Kong was already weakened by months of anti-government protests in the city, and has fallen off more recently as the coronavirus outbreak spreads in China.
On Tuesday, officials in Hong Kong reported the first death from the virus in the semi-autonomous territory, fanning fear that the virus is spreading locally. China reported 425 deaths and more than 20,000 confirmed cases, up sharply from figures the day before.
United, American and Delta Air Lines all announced they would suspend flights to mainland China shortly after the State Department issued an advisory last week telling Americans not to travel there.
However, American continued to fly to Hong Kong from Los Angeles and Dallas-Fort Worth, and United kept flights from San Francisco. Delta had not served Hong Kong.
Several hours after American’s announcement on Tuesday, United said it too would suspend Hong Kong flights beginning Saturday and running through Feb. 20. It cited the continued drop in demand.
In another sign of fading interest in travelling to Hong Kong, Disney said Tuesday that attendance and hotel stays in Hong Kong were down because of “recent events.” The company didn’t elaborate.
Air Canada
Air Canada has extended its goodwill policy related to the outbreak to include flights to, from or via Hong Kong.
Passengers scheduled to travel during the affected period, can change their flight free of charge, subject to availability in the cabin originally purchased. Otherwise, any fare difference will apply.
Customers travelling to, from or via Beijing, Shanghai or Wuhan also have the option of cancelling their flight for a full refund.
Hospital staff strike
Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority said 4,600 medical staff, mainly nurses, didn’t turn up for work Wednesday as part of a strike by a medical union. The group wants the government to completely seal the border with mainland China to halt cross-border travel and prevent the spread of a new virus.
The medical union, however, says about 7,000 people took part in the strike Wednesday.
Opposition lawmakers also slammed Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s move Wednesday to quarantine all people arriving from the mainland for 14 days instead of shutting the remaining two land border checkpoints. They said it could lead to more people from the mainland coming to Hong Kong to seek treatment that would further burden the city’s already taxed medical facilities.
Lam said the number of cases in Hong Kong has risen to 21, with three more local transmissions involving citizens with no travel history to the mainland and an unclear source of infection.