Etihad Airways has suspended its services between Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong until at least March 28, saying the move was prompted by reduced demand. Etihad starting cancelling its flights to Hong Kong on February 21 – the airline would ordinarily operate two flights per day to and from the territory.
Owing to a government mandate, Etihad continues to operate flights to Beijing on the Chinese mainland as a way of showing “solidarity” with China. In a statement, Etihad said passengers arriving on flights from Beijing would be “subject to stringent (health) screening” before they were allowed to enter Abu Dhabi.
The airline quickly arranged a special cadre of volunteer cabin crew to solely work flights to and from Beijing, offering bonus payments and other incentives to encourage crew to come forward.
The United Arab Emirates has so far confirmed nine cases of COVID-19 novel Coronavirus, all of whom were Chinese citizens who had travelled to the UAE from mainland China.
On Tuesday, the civil aviation authority announced it would ban all flights to and from Iran after a spike in cases in the country and at least 15 deaths were recorded.
Bahrain has banned all flights between the UAE and its capital Manama after a returning Bahraini citizen became the first person in the country to be found to have the virus. The patient had recently returned to Bahrain from Iran on an Emirates flight via Dubai.
Etihad has cancelled its services to Shanghai and Chengdu, while Emirates has halted all flights between Dubai and Shanghai and Guangzhou until further notice. Emirates continues to operate flights to Hong Kong.
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke with President Xi Jinping to “review prospects of enhancing the overall strategic partnership between the two friendly countries,” a statement from the UAE’s official press agency said.
Sheikh Mohamed praised Beijing’s handling of the Coranvirus outbreak and reaffirmed the UAE’s solidarity with China.
