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Coronavirus: Virgin Atlantic extends China flights suspension

Virgin Atlantic has extended the suspension of its London-Shanghai service for a further six weeks amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

No Virgin flights between Heathrow and Shanghai will operate until March 28. The carrier had initially suspended flights until February 17.

The Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to China and this week advised all 30,000 Britons in the country to leave.

British Airways has suspended all flights to mainland China until February 29. Flights to and from Hong Kong remain unaffected.

Meanwhile the majority of Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon flights between Hong Kong and mainland China have been cut.

Staff have also been asked to take three weeks of unpaid leave as capacity is slashed.

On Thursday, a third patient in the UK tested positive for coronavirus. More than 28,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide and 565 people have died.

A spokesperson for Virgin said: “We continue to monitor the coronavirus situation very carefully, including  the latest guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which on Tuesday issued new guidance to UK citizens to leave China if they are able to do so.

“Given this new FCO advice, the increasing entry restrictions on recent visitors to mainland China, and our rigorous focus on safety, Virgin Atlantic has opted to extend the suspension of Heathrow-Shanghai operations until 28th March 2020.

“All passengers booked to travel should contact Virgin Atlantic to discuss their travel plans, with the option to receive a refund. They can contact our customer care team via our SMS messaging system +44 (0) 7481 339184.”

The next Virgin flight to the Chinese city will depart Heathrow on Sunday March 29, returning on Monday March 30.

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