British Airways suspends all flights to mainland China with ‘immediate effect’ over coronavirus

British Airways has suspended all flights to and from mainland China with ‘immediate effect’ over the deadly coronavirus crisis which has killed 132 people with nearly 6,000 infected already across the world.

The airline, which operates daily flights to Shanghai and Beijing from Heathrow, said it was halting the flights with immediate effect after the Foreign Office warned against ‘all but essential travel’ to the country because of the virus outbreak.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, British Airways said: ‘We have suspended all flights to and from mainland China with immediate effect following advice from the Foreign Office against all but essential travel.

‘We apologise to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority. ‘Customers due to travel to or from China in the coming days can find more information on ba.com.’

This comes a day after British nationals stranded in the epicentre were told to contact the embassy in Beijing by 11am if they wanted to come home, with officials claiming an airlift from Wuhan which has been under lockdown since last week was scheduled for Thursday.

The death toll has risen to 132 with confirmed infections surging to nearly 6,000 across the world.