Coronavirus: These Countries, Airlines Restrict Travel to China

The outbreak of the coronavirus has prompted dozens of nations and airlines to restrict travel, increasingly isolating the country of more than 1.3 billion people. Nearly 10,000 flights were canceled between the outbreak of the virus and Jan. 31, according to Cirium, which provides data and research on the travel industry. The World Health Organization has so far said that such limits on trade and travel aren’t needed to control the spread of the virus. Here are the countries, territories and airlines that have travel restrictions on China.

Australia

Australia will deny entry to anyone arriving from mainland China, except for Australian citizens, residents or their family members, and air crew. It has also warned against any travel to all of mainland China.

Australia’s largest airline Qantas Airways Ltd. will suspend services to mainland China from Feb. 9.

Canada

Canada advised citizens to avoid nonessential travel to China.

Air Canada has halted flights to Beijing and Shanghai. The suspension is expected to last until Feb. 29.

Egypt

Egypt Air indefinitely suspended flights to mainland China. The airline connects to Hangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou.

Finland

Finnair will cancel all flights to and from mainland China between Feb. 6 and Feb. 29.

France

France urged citizens not to travel to China.

Air France will exit China until Feb. 9.

Germany

Lufthansa suspended services to China until Feb. 9.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong has barred residents of China’s Hubei province, where the outbreak is centered, from entering the city. The government has appeared to open the door for more controls on travel from the mainland, with an official saying it could shorten opening times for ports, limit transportation and introduce laws to curb cross-border traffic.

Cathay Pacific will cut the capacity of its flights to China by 50% or more through March.

Indonesia

Indonesia is temporarily banning flights to and from mainland China from Feb. 3 and won’t allow those who have been there in recent weeks to enter or transit.

The government has suspended free visa and visa-on-arrival services for Chinese citizens living in the mainland and called on Indonesians to temporarily stop traveling there.

Indonesia has five domestic airlines flying to China: PT Garuda Indonesia, PT Citilink Indonesia, PT Lion Mentari Airlines, PT Sriwijaya Air and PT Batik Air Indonesia. The temporary flight ban applies to foreign airlines flying from China to Indonesia, including for transit.

India

India said Chinese passport holders and those who reside in China who have electronic visas to India won’t be able to enter.

Air India and IndiGo have suspended flights between some Indian cities and China.

Israel

Israel will refuse entry to foreign nationals coming from China.

Carrier El Al suspended flights to Beijing until March 25.

Italy

Italy suspended all flights from China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan until Apr. 28.

Japan

Japan has urged its citizens not to travel to China. It has barred entry to people with symptoms of the coronavirus.

Kenya

Kenya Airways suspended flights to and from Guangzhou until further notice.

Mongolia

Mongolia closed its border with China until March 2.

Morocco

Royal Air Maroc suspended direct flights to China until Feb. 29.

Myanmar

Myanmar said it will suspend the issuance of visas-on-arrival for all visitors from China.

New Zealand

New Zealand will deny entry to foreigners traveling from mainland China. The ban, effective Feb. 3, covers anyone who is traveling from or has transited through China, and will last up to 14 days.

It has also raised its travel advice about all of mainland China to “do not travel,” the highest level.

Air New Zealand will cut its Shanghai service from daily to four times a week from Feb. 18 to March 31

Netherlands

KLM suspended direct flights to some Chinese cities and reduced the number of weekly flights to Shanghai.

North Korea

North Korea shut its borders to visitors from China on Jan. 22.

Oman

Oman’s aviation authority suspended all flights between the sultanate and China.

Pakistan

Pakistan stopped flights to Wuhan and Hubei, but will reopen other routes in mainland China. It had delayed opening its northern border with China, while Karachi Port Trust, operator of nation’s largest port, had asked immigration authorities not to allow crew on foreign vessels to disembark.

Philippines

The Philippines widened a travel ban previously imposed on visitors from Hubei province to all of China, including Hong Kong and Macau, while prohibiting Filipinos from traveling to those areas.

Qatar

Qatar Airways is suspending flights to China starting from Feb. 3 until further notice.

Russia

Russia suspended visa-free tourist travel to China and temporarily blocked Chinese citizens from reaching Russia over the Mongolian border.

It will also stop processing documents for Chinese nationals to enter Russia for jobs, along with permits to hire workers from China. Visa-free travel was part of an agreement the two nations worked out in 2018.

Rwanda

RwandAir halted flights to and from China and will review the decision this month.

Singapore

Singapore blocked the entry and transit of people who had traveled to mainland China in the previous 14 days. Visas of China citizens to visit Singapore have been suspended, including those already issued.

Singapore Airlines and SilkAir said they would reduce their frequency of service to mainland China in February due to the entry restrictions issued by the local authorities.

South Korea

From Feb. 4, South Korea will temporarily ban foreigners who have visited or stayed in Hubei within 14 days of entering. Seoul will also suspend its no-visa favor for Chinese tourists to Jeju Island for now. South Korea is also suspending tourism to China.

Korean Air is stopping flights to Wuhan until Feb. 22 and will reduce services on other mainland China routes. Air Seoul suspended flights indefinitely between Incheon and the Chinese cities of Zhangjiajie and Linyi.

Spain

Iberia Airways suspended its flight to Shanghai, the only route it operates to China, through February.

Taiwan

Taiwan slapped an entry ban to residents of Hubei as well as those from the southern Guangdong province. It won’t rule out extending the ban to more Chinese provinces if necessary.

Mandarin Airlines suspended flights from Taiwan to Wuhan until the end of February.

Tanzania

Air Tanzania postponed its maiden February flights to China from Dar es Salaam.

Turkey

Turkish Airlines suspended flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xi’an until Feb. 9.

U.K.

British Airways halted daily routes to Beijing and Shanghai. Virgin Atlantic ceased flights to Shanghai for 14 days from Feb. 1

U.S.

The U.S. is temporarily barring entry to foreign nationals who have visited China and pose a risk of spreading the illness, unless they are immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Flights from China would be funneled through just seven U.S. airports.

The State Department issued its highest level do-not-travel advisory for China.

Delta Air Lines Inc. and American Airlines Group Inc. suspended all flights to China to as late as the end of April. United Airlines will suspend service to Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu from Feb. 6.

Vietnam

Vietnam ordered companies to stop accepting Chinese workers returning to the country after the Lunar New Year holidays. The suspension also applies to foreign workers traveling through Chinese regions affected by the outbreak.

The aviation authority canceled all flight permits and suspended new flight licenses for airlines operating between the country and China.

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