ORLANDO, Fla. — As concern over the Wuhan strain of the coronavirus spreads, three airlines are taking the extraordinary step of suspending all travel to and from China.
- Delta, American, United suspend all service to and from China
- More than 7,800 cases of coronavirus in China
Delta Airlines and American Airlines announced the suspensions on Friday morning. United announced its full suspension on Friday afternoon.
Delta says the last flight from the U.S. to China will leave on Monday, and the last return flight from China to the U.S. will leave February 5, to give customers looking to leave the country time to do so.
The suspension will start February 6 and continue through April.
Information on changing flights or getting a refund is available on the Delta website.
American Airlines, meanwhile, says it will suspend its operations beginning this Friday, January 31, and that suspension will run through March 27. The airline says representatives will be contacting customers directly about the change.
United Airlines originally suspended flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, but would continue service to Hong Kong. Then on Friday afternoon the airline announced it would suspend those flights as well until March 28.
Air France, British Airways and Scandanavian Airlines have already suspended services to China.
Other airlines meanwhile are still flying but have pulled back on service to and from China.
The CDC says there are more than 9,000 cases in China, with more than 200 deaths. There are 132 additional cases in 23 countries, including confirmed cases in four U.S. states.
The World Health Organization declared a global emergency because of the outbreak Thursday, and the State Dept. also issued an advisory recommending no nonessential travel to China.