Coronavirus outbreak: IndiGo suspends flights on Delhi-Chengdu, Bengaluru-Hong Kong routes

IndiGo airlines said on Wednesday that due to the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, it has decided to suspend its flights on the Bengaluru-Hong Kong route from February 1 and on the Delhi-Chengdu route from February 1 to 20.

The low-cost carrier said for now, it will continue to operate the Kolkata-Guangzhou flight which it is "monitoring on a daily basis".

"And for our operating crew, we are ensuring that they return to India on the inbound flights without any layover in China," the airline said in a statement.

Moreover, according to a source, India's largest airline has also told its crew members — who are working on flights connecting India with East Asian countries like Thailand and Singapore — to wear N95 masks at all times when they are on ground.

"However, these crew members have been asked not to wear the mask when they are flying. They have also been told to avoid public places, meat from unverified sources and uncooked meat in East Asian cities. They have also been told to wash their hands frequently," the source added.

According to an Air India official, all crew members working on flights between India and South East Asia have been asked to wear N95 masks.

In India, many people are under observation in hospitals for suspected coronavirus infection including in Maharashtra, Goa, Odisha and the national capital. People returning to the country after visiting China are being regularly screened for the deadly virus at airports across the country.

Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from common cold to acute respiratory syndromes. The virus, which has killed 132 people and affected at least 6,000 others in China, is a novel strain not seen before.

In its statement, IndiGo said on Wednesday, "After carefully assessing the current coronavirus situation in China, IndiGo is taking some safety measures for its customers, crew and staff. Due to China travel restrictions, we have seen a high number of cancellations from China on our Delhi-Chengdu route and vice versa."

"Therefore, we are suspending our flights between Delhi and Chengdu from February 1 until February 20. We are also suspending our Bengaluru- Hong Kong flight effective February 1," it added.

The low-cost carrier stated that these are purely temporary and precautionary measures.

"We understand that these measures will cause inconvenience to our customers and we will be refunding the full amount to the impacted passengers," it clarified.

IndiGo added that it is in "close touch" with the "relevant government authorities" and "we thank them and our partners in China for all the help and support that they have extended so far".

Air India has kept a 423-seater jumbo plane ready in Mumbai to airlift Indian citizens from Wuhan city in China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Wuhan is the capital of China's Hubei province.

As India started the preparations to evacuate over 250 Indians, mostly students, stuck in the Hubei province, its embassy in Beijing said these nationals will have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine on their return. PTI DSP DSP ABH