Centre advises against travel to China; IndiGo, AI cut services
Beijing’s permission sought to operate 2 flights to bring back Indians from Hubei
30/01/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,NEW DELHI
Beijing’s permission sought to operate 2 flights to bring back Indians from Hubei
30/01/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,NEW DELHI
All ready: The new coronavirus isolation ward at TB and Chest Diseases Hospital in Puducherry on Wednesday. M. Samraj The Hindu
The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday advised people to refrain from travelling to China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, as the death toll there rose to 133 with nearly 1,500 new cases.
The fresh advisory came hours after a communication from the Ministry said, “All non-essential travel to China should be avoided.”
The Government of India has sought the Chinese authorities’ permission to operate two flights to bring back Indians from Hubei Province. Meanwhile, two Indian carriers that fly to China — IndiGo and Air India — on Wednesday announced suspension of most of their flights to that country.
IndiGo announced that it was suspending its Delhi-Chengdu and Bengaluru-Hong Kong flights with effect from February 1. However, it will continue to operate the Kolkata-Guangzhou flight. The airline said it was taking precautions for its crew to ensure that they don’t have a layover in China and can return on the same flight.
Air India too cancelled its Mumbai-Delhi-Shanghai flights with effect from January 31, though it will continue to fly to Hong Kong.
Screening of ship passengers and crew for the virus at ports in the country was also initiated.
Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong tweeted, “The World Health Organisation (WHO) does not recommend the evacuation of nationals, and called on the international community to remain calm and not overreact. The WHO is confident in China’s epidemic prevention and control ability.”
The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday advised people to refrain from travelling to China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, as the death toll there rose to 133 with nearly 1,500 new cases.
The fresh advisory came hours after a communication from the Ministry said, “All non-essential travel to China should be avoided.”
The Government of India has sought the Chinese authorities’ permission to operate two flights to bring back Indians from Hubei Province. Meanwhile, two Indian carriers that fly to China — IndiGo and Air India — on Wednesday announced suspension of most of their flights to that country.
IndiGo announced that it was suspending its Delhi-Chengdu and Bengaluru-Hong Kong flights with effect from February 1. However, it will continue to operate the Kolkata-Guangzhou flight. The airline said it was taking precautions for its crew to ensure that they don’t have a layover in China and can return on the same flight.
Air India too cancelled its Mumbai-Delhi-Shanghai flights with effect from January 31, though it will continue to fly to Hong Kong.
Screening of ship passengers and crew for the virus at ports in the country was also initiated.
Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong tweeted, “The World Health Organisation (WHO) does not recommend the evacuation of nationals, and called on the international community to remain calm and not overreact. The WHO is confident in China’s epidemic prevention and control ability.”
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