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Coronavirus flights: easyJet, Ryanair, BA & more cancel due to pandemic – full list
Coronavirus has officially been named by the World Health Organisation as a pandemic. The urgency to slow the spread of the virus has seen a demand for travel fall dramatically.
In a bid to protect passengers, coupled with the lack of people booking trips, a number of big-name airlines across the world have been pushed to cancel flights.
Here is a list of flights cancelled from some of the biggest names in the air industry.
If your flight is cancelled it is advised that you contact the airline operating your journey for information on how you can get a refund.
Most carriers are updating affected passengers in due course.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: Full list of countries FCO warns against travel to
Coronavirus flights: A number of airlines are now cancelling flights (Image: Getty Images)
Airlines have seen a significant reduction in demand for travel (Image: Getty Images)
Ryanair
Following the increase in cases across Italy, the budget airline decided to pull the plug on all flights to and from Italy until April 8 2020.
Ryanair issued a statement saying: “All affected passengers have received email notices today informing them of these flight cancellations.
“Passengers looking for repatriation can obtain a free move to an earlier Ryanair flight operating up until midnight Friday, March 13.
“Affected passengers will be able to choose between a full refund or a travel credit that can be redeemed on Ryanair flights in the next 12 months.”
Ryanair has subsequently cancelled flights Berlin Schönefeld to Tel Aviv and Eilat Ramon, from Berlin Tegel to Tel Aviv, from Nuremberg, Memmingen, Karlsruhe Baden Baden to Tel Aviv and Marseille to Tel Aviv will be cancelled from March 15 until April 8.
There will also be no flights to and from Georgia or from Spain to Montenegro. The airline will continue to provide updates based on the development of the COVID-19 crisis.
easyJet
easyJet made the decision to cancel the majority of its flights to and from Italy after the country took extreme measures to combat the rapidly spreading confirmed cases. This will be reviewed as of April 3 based on government and WHO advice.
However, the airline has said that it will provide “rescue flights” for travellers who find themselves stranded in Italy following the news.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “Following restrictions implemented by the Italian authorities, easyJet is now in the process of cancelling all of its existing scheduled flights touching Italy between March 10 and April 3 2020. We will be operating some rescue flights in the coming days.
“We are advising affected customers of their options by email and SMS which includes the option of rebooking or requesting a refund.
“We will be operating rescue flights for passengers wishing to travel for essential, work, health or repatriation reasons to and from Italy.”
A number of flights to France have also been suspended.
British Airways
British Airways has cancelled all flights to and from Italy until at least April 4 but will continue to work with authorities to determine a safe time to restart travel.
Flights to China continue to be suspended until April 18.
BA made the decision to pull all flights to and from Beijing and Shanghai Until April 17 2020. The airline has also reduced its schedule to Hong Kong, merging two daily flights into one.
Additionally, one New York flight from Heathrow was removed from BA’s daily itinerary.
It is anticipated that the British carrier will slash a further 400 flights between March 16 and 28.
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Jet2
Following the FCO’s advice that Britons should “avoid all but essential travel” to Italy, Jet2 cancelled all flights to the country.
Destinations include Rome, Naples, Pisa, Venice, Verona and Turin.
Virgin Atlantic
Long-haul operator Virgin Atlantic has made the decision to place travel restrictions on anyone who has visited an affected area. Those who have will no longer be allowed to fly to Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, India, Hong Kong, Jamaica, St Lucia, Israel, Trinidad and Tobago, or the US.
Heathrow-Shanghai journeys are also distracted until April 19.
There will be no direct flights to Italy, and those who are hoping to make journeys to the heavily impacted country will have the option to reschedule.
Virgin Atlantic has additionally suspended services between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv until April.
It will provide updates accordingly.
WizzAir
Lack of demand coupled with the increase in confirmed cases across Italy has lead to the Hungarian airline pulling all flights to and from Italy. These routes include London Luton to Bari and Catani. This will remain in place until April 3 when flights will be reviewed.
The budget airline will also be cancelling its Israel flights, including London Luton to Tel Aviv, until March 23 2020.
A Wizz Air spokesperson said: “Passengers with bookings affected by this change will be automatically informed and accommodated on an alternative route at the earliest possible date.
“Customers who have booked directly on wizzair.com or the airline’s mobile app will receive an email notification, in which they are offered the free rebooking or full refund or 120 per cent refund of the original fare in airline credit.
“Passengers can choose between the above options by clicking on the link in the e-mail and easily choosing the best option via our self-service platform.”
Travel amid the coronavirus crisis (Image: Getty Images)
Lufthansa
Lufthansa has announced it will be cancelling flights across its networks, which includes Lufthansa Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Eurowings and Brussels Airlines.
Flights to mainland China are suspended until April 23, and flights to Iran remain suspended until April 30.
Services to Italy, Seoul and Hong Kong are running on a reduced schedule.
Lufthansa has said it will reduce flights to Milan, Venice, Rome, Turin, Verona, Bologna, Ancona and Pisa as the month continues. Meanwhile, some domestic German routes will also be hit.
Swiss has said it is likely flights to and from Florence, Milan, Rome and Venice will be impacted until April.
Austrian Airlines has reduced its schedule to Italy throughout March and April by around 40 percent.
Meanwhile, Eurowings has followed suit until March 8 2020.
Beyond March 14 the airline will continue to provide routes to the USA from Europe, though these will be indirect working in partnership with United Airlines.
According to the company website: “All other U.S. flights will be suspended until further notice due to U.S. administration restrictions, including all departures from Munich, Düsseldorf and Geneva. The Lufthansa Group will continue to serve all destinations in Canada until further notice.”
The airline will be contacting affected passengers in due course.
Norwegian
Norwegian has announced it will be suspending more than 4,000 flights as well as implementing layoffs to staff. Following the U.S ban on travel form most of Europe, the airline has grounded 40 percent of its long-haul fleet and will cancel up to 25 percent of its short-haul flights until the end of May.
Jacob Schram, CEO of Norwegian said: “This is an unprecedented situation and our main priority continues to be the care and safety of our customers and colleagues.”
From March 29 until the end of April, all flights from Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam, Athens and Oslo to the US will be cancelled.
However, at the time of writing all 11 routes, Norwegian operates between London Gatwick and the U.S. will remain in place.
The short-haul network is also heavily impacted.
Norwegian is working to cancel and merge domestic flights in Norway and flights within Scandinavia, including Oslo-Copenhagen and Oslo-Stockholm. Flights to Italy have been cancelled with immediate effect.
Customers are advised to stay up-to-date with the company.
Map of cases of COVID-19 worldwide (Image: DX)
KLM
Dutch airline KLM has suspended all flights to mainland China, including hubs Chengdu, Hangzhou and Xiamen, until May 3.
Flights to Hong Kong have also been reduced until May.
Passengers have the option to rebook to get a full refund for their affected flight.
Up to and including 29 March, KLM will continue flying to and from Atlanta, Washington, New York JFK, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco, possibly with an updated schedule.
The airline has also cancelled flights to and from Venice, Milan, Milano and Naples until April 3, 2020, and will continue to work with authorities regarding safety.
KLM has changed its flight schedule to and from India, with plans to reduce frequency from March 23 to March 28. Most flights are expected to resume on March 29.
Flights to Kuwait and Bahrain have been cancelled, meanwhile, Singapore and Seoul flights continue to run but the airline assures passengers it is monitoring the situation.
Air France
Air France has suspended all flights to mainland China, Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei. The company will resume operations from March 29 so long as it is deemed safe.
The airline has also reduced its offering across Europe by 25 percent from March 14.
Flights to Italy are cancelled until April 3.
The airline has also cancelled all flights to and from Saint Petersburg, Russia, Tel Aviv, Amman and Beirut.
American Airlines
American Airlines has cancelled flights to China and Hong Kong until April 23 and 24. Due to the reduction in demand, the airline has also cancelled flights to and from Milan, Italy, New York and Miami.
Flights to Milan and Seoul are anticipated to resume on April 25.
United Airlines
US airline United has said it will be reducing international flights throughout April by 20 percent. It has also cancelled all flights from the US to a number of mainland China airports.
Flight waivers are also available on other routes.
A statement on the company website reads: “We will continue to fly our regular schedule from Europe to the U.S. through March 20. After that, we expect to fly daily to Zurich, Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, Manchester and Edinburgh, maintain multiple flights to Frankfurt and Munich, and operate 18 daily flights to and from London, three to Dublin and four flights a week to Lisbon, all while continuing to monitor demand. Schedule changes will take place this Saturday, March 14.
“At that time, customers will be able to check the status of flights beyond March 20 on united.com or the mobile app.”
Emirates
As of March 12 Emirates has suspended flights between New York EWR and Athens, and flights from Fort Lauderdale until March 31.
It has also cancelled flights between New York JFK and Milan, Venice, Milan, Bologna and Rome until April 3. Journeys between Bangkok and Hong Kong have been suspended from March 9 to March 31, and Kuwait journeys are cancelled until March 31.
There will be no flights to Tehran, Saudi Arabia, Guangzhou or Shanghai until further notice.
Published at Fri, 13 Mar 2020 16:21:00 +0000
