Home Transport Aviation UAE halts all flights to China, except Beijing Passengers travelling from Beijing International Airport will be expected to undergo a 6-8 hour comprehensive medical screening at the airport by Zainab Mansoor February 4, 2020 The UAE has suspended all flights to and from China, sans the country’s capital, Beijing. The suspension will come into effect from February 5, until further notice, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said in a statement, official news agency WAM reported. The decision is aligned with precautionary measures undertaken by the government to manage the outbreak of the new coronavirus. “We continue to put our confidence in the Chinese Government’s efforts to control and contain the situation,” the statement noted. The Authority stated that all passengers travelling from Beijing International Airport will be expected to undergo a 6-8 hour comprehensive medical screening at the airport to ensure the safety of passengers. It also stressed that airlines should communicate the new procedures to passengers to avoid flight delays. The GCAA has coordinated with international and national agencies such as the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA), the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), Etihad Airways and Emirates Airlines. The UAE reported five cases of the coronavirus, all passengers who had flown into the UAE from the Chinese city of Wuhan. All incoming and outgoing flights to Wuhan – the city where the virus originated – have been cancelled since January 23. Dubai alone has more than 90 weekly flights to China, from where 3.7 million people flew to the sheikdom last year. The death toll from the virus has risen to 425 in China, with total cases crossing 20,000. Chinese officials are evaluating cuts to their growth target for 2020 and the central bank stepped in to help cushion the economy. More than 25,000 flights to, from and within China will be canceled this week as in excess of two dozen airlines respond to the coronavirus threat, according to flight-data firm OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd. International capacity will fall by 4.4 million seats a week — equivalent to the whole of the Indian market stopping all services, it said. With inputs from Bloomberg 0 Comments