Daily Mail - 03.03.2020

Page ^ Daily Mail, Tuesday, March 3, 2020

virus panic spreads

flights grounded by virus panic

day

arch

oul

o

and

From Heathrow

■171 short-haul flights

to countries including

France, Italy, Austria,

Belgium, Germany,

Ireland and Switzerland

(March 17-28)

■58 flights

to Shanghai

and Beijing

cancelled

until March 31

■29 flights to

Hong Kong

cancelled until

March 31

■6 flights

cancelled to

Singapore every

other day

starting from

March 15

(cancelled

flights on March 15,

17, 19, 21, 23 and 25)

■Flights

cancelled to Seoul

every other day from

March 13-

■12 flights to JFK

(March 17-28)

From London City

■26 short-haul flights

to Berlin, Dusseldorf,

Frankfurt, Munich,

Venice, Rome, Milan

and Florence

(March 17-28)

From Gatwick

■7 short-haul flights

cancelled to Italy, France

and Albania (March 16-25)

EASYJET

■From Gatwick, Bristol,

East Midlands, Luton,

Stansted, Birmingham,

Manchester, Liverpool

and Edinburgh

■500 flights cancelled to

Turin, Milan, Verona,

Venice, Pisa, Florence,

Ancona, Rome, Naples,

Bari, Brindisi, Catania

and Palermo until

March 31 at least

RYANAIR

■Reducing short-haul

flights to and from Italy,

from across Europe, by up

to 25 per cent from

March 17-April 9

VIRGIN ATLANTIC

From Heathrow

■48 flights to Shanghai

cancelled until April 19

FRANCE

ITALY

USA

HONG

KONG

ROUTES HIT BY CONTAGION FEARS

p

Hundreds of services

axed... now Easter

holidays face threat

...AND iN

miltoN

kEyNEs

yEstErDAy

THE travel plans of tens of

thousands of holidaymakers

have been thrown into doubt

a f t e r B r i t i s h A i r w a y s ,

EasyJet and Ryanair can-

celled hundreds of flights

due to coronavirus.

In a dramatic development,

BA yesterday axed hundreds of

short-haul flights to destina-

tions across Europe, including

Italy, France, Germany and Ire-

land, from March 16 to 31.

The airline also scrapped 12 long-

haul flights from Heathrow to New

York, its busiest and most profita-

ble route, along with dozens of serv-

ices to China, Hong Kong, Singa-

pore and Seoul.

In all, the airline has cancelled

about 3 per cent of its flights until

the end of this month.

Bosses at BA’s parent company,

International Airlines Group (IAG),

are in crisis talks over the outbreak,

which has led to plummeting

demand for international travel as

passengers stay at home for fear of

contracting the virus, or being

stranded abroad and forced into

advance. Until now, the vast major-

ity of cancelled flights across all air-

lines had been due to depart to the

worst-hit countries, such as main-

land China and, in recent days, cit-

ies in northern Italy.

But the latest announcement of

sweeping cancellations to locations

across Europe – and even the US –

threatens to ruin the travel plans of

hundreds of thousands of people.

Although most airlines have can-

celled flights up until March 31,

there is no guarantee that it won’t

be extended into April, which could

spell chaos for families with planned

Easter getaways.

The sheer number of cancellations

has forced BA to waive the fee it

usually imposes on customers who

wish to change the date of their

flight. However, this applies only to

new bookings made between March

3 and 16, and if the new flight is

more expensive, passengers will

have to pay the difference.

BA has also contacted customers

on cancelled flights and is offering

them the option of rebooking with

other airlines, a full refund, or a seat

on a BA flight at a later date.

Consumer champion Which?

called on airlines to urgently update

families in the run-up to Easter.

A spokesman said: ‘BA and Rya-

nair must ensure they are keeping

passengers informed and quickly

rerouting them to their destina-

tions on the next available flight,

with other carriers if necessary.

‘Given the circumstances, airlines

should also consider offering flexi-

bility to customers who don’t want

to travel, such as allowing refunds

and waiving flight change fees for

both existing and future bookings.’

Industry insiders fear a global

pandemic will devastate the avia-

tion and travel industries.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary

said: ‘Our focus at this time is on

minimising any risk to our people

and our passengers. While we are

heavily booked over the next two

weeks, there has been a notable

drop in forward bookings towards

the end of March, into early April.

‘It makes sense to selectively prune

our schedule to and from those air-

ports where travel has been most

affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.’

A spokesman for BA said: ‘To

match reduced demand due to the

continuing coronavirus issue, we

are merging a number of flights

between March 16 and March 28.’

EasyJet said: ‘We can confirm that

we have taken the decision to can-

cel a number of flights mainly to

and from Italy following a slowing

in demand. The cancellations are

for some flights between March 13

and March 31, most of which have

multiple daily frequencies.’

£15bn airline rout – Page 69

By tom Payne

Transport Correspondent

quarantine. Many airlines have

recorded pitifully low passenger

numbers and delays caused by pas-

senger no-shows.

Among the worst-hit carriers is

EasyJet, which has cancelled 500

flights to 13 airports in Italy over

the second half of March – affecting

one in ten flights to the country.

The airline, whose share price has

dropped by a third this week, has

rolled out emergency measures to

deal with reduced ticket sales,

including a staff pay freeze.

Yesterday Ryanair also announced

it would reduce the number of flight

to and from Italy, from airports

across Europe, by up to 25 per cent

from March 17 to April 9.

A spokesman wouldn’t confirm

which Ryanair routes had been can-

celled, but said passengers would

be contacted at least 14 days in

70% leap in calls to 111 hotline

By sophie Borland Health Editor

mailplus.co.uk/briefings

WATCH MORE AT

WATCH MORE AT

mailplus.co.uk/briefings

CALLS to NHS 111 are up by 70 per cent on last year as

thousands of Britons seek advice on coronavirus.

In the past seven days the helpline fielded 2,9

queries – an average of 66,300 a day – compared to

318,191 for the same week last year.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of last week

the number of calls was nearly 70 per cent higher.

The surge in demand coincided with a spike in cases

in Northern Italy where many Britons had just

returned from half-term ski trips.

Several patients complained they waited four hours

for a call-back – and one claimed it took four days.

Last night the NHS announced an extra £1.7million

would be ploughed into the service to recruit 500

extra staff and set up a new virus advice website.

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical

director, admitted the helpline had come under pres-

sure as the first port of call for worried patients.

The entire health service is bracing for a surge in

demand in the coming months.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock yesterday said he

feared widespread transmission of coronavirus in

the UK ‘may be inevitable’. He also warned front-line

medics may themselves get infected.

Taking no chances: A

suited commuter in gas

mask and black gloves

drew quizzical looks

from fellow travellers