Air Canada, which offers direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, as well as to Wuhan through a partner, is allowing passengers to rebook flights to the Chinese cities free of charge.

 

Air Canada Flights

Air Canada’s notice for passengers flying to Beijing (PEK) and Shanghai (PVG) applies to tickets issued no later than January 28 for travel January 24 – February 29. Passengers can rebook free of charge until April 15.

Air Canada had previously waived change fees for Wuhan (WUH) for tickets issued no later than January 21, for travel January 22 – March 29. Those passengers can rebook free of charge until June 15.

So far Canada is not planning to airlift out any Canadian citizens. Meanwhile the U.S. and several other nations prepared Tuesday to airlift citizens out of Wuhan.

 

Other Operators

Hong Kong’s leader said it will cut all rail links to mainland China and halve the number of flights as authorities in China and overseas sought to stem the spread of the new virus. The number of confirmed cases rose to more than 4,500.

The U.S. government chartered a plane to fly out diplomats from the U.S. Consulate in Wuhan, where the outbreak started, and other Americans. The plane will make a refuelling stop in Alaska before flying on to Ontario, California, the U.S. Embassy said.

A Japanese-chartered Boeing 767 departed for Wuhan to fly out its citizens, the first of two possible flights, and South Korea also said it will send a plane to the city in central China. France, Mongolia and other governments also planned evacuations.

China has cut off access to Wuhan and 16 other cities in Hubei province to prevent people from leaving and spreading the virus further. The lockdown has trapped more than 50 million people in the most far-reaching disease control measures ever imposed.

Source: Travelweek.

 

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