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PARIS, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Unions at Air France
have demanded the carrier stop flying to China, cabin crew
representatives told Reuters, amid concern that the flights may
expose employees to the coronavirus and help spread infections.
The main Air France flight attendants' unions asked managers
at a meeting on Wednesday to end the flights to Beijing and
Shanghai, officials at the UNAC and SNPNC unions said.
"When the staff see that other airlines have stopped flying
there, their reaction is 'Why are we still going?'," UNAC
president Flore Arrighi said.
European rivals including Lufthansa and British
Airways have suspended China operations, but Air France
and its Dutch stablemate KLM have maintained services on a
reduced schedule reflecting a slump in demand.
Air France said it had no immediate comment on its
discussions with unions.
"Air France is monitoring the rapidly evolving situation in
real time," a spokesman said. "The health and safety of its crew
remain the absolute priority."
The number of deaths from the fast-spreading virus in China
has risen to 170.
The call for a halt to China flights was raised during a
full works council on Thursday, and some pilots' representatives
also backed the demand, union officials said.
Air France has already put in place a voluntary system
allowing pilots and crew to opt out of China flights with no
loss of earnings, and shortened staff layovers in Beijing to try
to reduce their potential exposure to the virus.
(Reporting by Laurence Frost and Caroline Paillez; Editing by
Sudip Kar-Gupta and Timothy Heritage)