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* HSBC bans staff travel to Hong Kong, mainland
* Facebook curbs non-essential travel
* United, others cancel flights and adjust schedules
(Adds UK advisory, Air Canada cancellations)
By Tracy Rucinski, Josh Horwitz and Heekyong Yang
CHICAGO/SHANGHAI/SEOUL Jan 28 (Reuters) - Airlines including
United Airlines Holdings Inc said they were canceling
some flights to China as demand fell sharply and global
companies told their employees not to travel on deepening fears
over the spread of a flu-like virus.
The coronavirus that originated in the city of Wuhan has
killed 106 people in China and spread across the world, rattling
financial markets.
The United States warned that Americans should reconsider
visiting China, while Britain advised against all but essential
travel to mainland China. South Korea also advised its citizens
to stay away.
Facebook became the first major U.S. company to
announce a travel suspension after the U.S. government's
warning, saying it had asked employees to halt non-essential
travel to mainland China and to work from home if they had
traveled there.
Chicago-based United said it was suspending 24 U.S. flights
to Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai between Feb. 1 and Feb. 8 due
to a significant drop in demand.
Europe's biggest bank, HSBC, banned all staff
travel to Chinese-ruled Hong Kong for two weeks and to mainland
China until further notice, according to an internal memo seen
by Reuters.
The British-based lender, which has the largest presence
among foreign banks in China, also asked staff who have recently
visited the country to undergo a self-imposed 14-day quarantine.
The virus has an incubation period of up to 14 days.
U.S. rival Goldman Sachs imposed similar measures,
according to a memo seen by Reuters.
In South Korea, home appliances maker LG Electronics Inc
put a complete ban on travel to China and has
advised employees on business trips in the country to return
home as quickly as possible, a company spokeswoman said.
South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc said it was
urging employees to avoid all non-essential travel to China,
while banking group Standard Chartered restricted
travel to both mainland China and Hong Kong.
In Germany, auto supplier Webasto, which has 11 sites in
China, including in Wuhan, has halted all corporate travel to
and from China after an employee was infected.
Japan's Honda Motor Co Ltd said it recommended
employees avoid travel to China, while Nissan Motor Co
said it plans to evacuate its Japanese staff and their families
in Wuhan via a government-chartered flight.
FALLING TRAVEL DEMAND
Aside from United, other airlines said they were adjusting
schedules as companies reassessed the risk of travel to China.
South Korean budget carrier Air Seoul said it will halt all
flights to China, while Taiwan's China Airlines
rescheduled and canceled some flights to China to Feb. 10.
Taiwan's Eva Airways also said some flights to
China may be canceled.
Air Canada said it was cancelling some of its 33
weekly flights to China, and Germany's Lufthansa
pointed to subdued bookings to and from the country.
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said it was
reducing overnight layovers for crew at all points in mainland
China as much as possible, resulting in some changes to its
flight schedule.
International SOS, a medical and travel security services
firm that advises companies on travel, said its guidance for now
was that business travel to China outside Wuhan's province of
Hubei could continue.
But this could be updated if there were major flight
cancellations throughout China and more disruptions to ground
transport, International SOS Regional Security Director James
Robertson said.
(Reporting by Josh Horwitz in Shanghai, Heekyong Yang in Seoul
and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; additional reporting by Engen
Tham in Shanghai, Sumeet Chatterjee in Hong Kong, Jamie Freed in
Sydney, Naomi Tatjitsu in Tokyo, Ben Blanchard in Taipei, Joyce
Lee in Seoul and Allison Lampert in Montreal; writing by Jamie
Freed and Lawrence White; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Rosalba
O'Brien)
