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* Air France suspends China flights as virus spreads
* Follows airlines such as British Airways, Lufthansa
* Airlines still flying to China cut layover times
(Updates with details of Air France-KLM flight suspension)
By Laurence Frost, Aradhana Aravindan and Chayut
Setboonsarng
PARIS/SINGAPORE/BANGKOK, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Air France-KLM
joined other major airlines in suspending flights to
mainland China on Thursday, as cabin crews voiced unease about
exposure to the rapidly-spreading coronavirus which has killed
more than 170 people.
The decision came after cabin crew unions demanded an
immediate halt to Air France's Beijing and Shanghai flights
ahead of a works council meeting, staff representatives said.
"Air France's top priority is the health and safety of its
customers and employees," the airline said, adding that flights
to mainland China had been suspended until Feb. 9 "after careful
consideration of the developing situation".
The airline joins others including British Airways
and Germany's Lufthansa that have dropped mainland
Chinese destinations besides Wuhan, the outbreak's centre, which
is closed to commercial air traffic.
Other major carriers have kept flying to China, but
protective masks and shorter layovers designed to reduce
exposure have done little to reassure crews.
Thai Airways is hosing its cabins with
disinfectant spray between China flights and allowing crew to
wear masks and gloves.
"I don't think it's safe at all even with gloves and masks,
because you catch it so many ways, like your eyes," said one
flight attendant, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"My friends also feel unsafe and don't want to fly," she
said. "When we fly, we don't sleep a lot."
Airlines still flying to China that have cut layovers
include Virgin Atlantic. Its staff layover times have been
halved and will be spent in airport hotels, Britain's Unite
union said. Delta Air Lines is operating fewer China
flights and shorter layovers, with food deliveries so crew can
stay in their hotels.
Korean Air Lines Co Ltd and Singapore Airlines
are sending additional crew to fly each plane straight
back, avoiding overnight stays.
"Most of us would not want to stay in China at the current
moment," said a Singapore pilot who welcomed the policy. The
airline declined to comment.
The South Korean carrier also said on Thursday it was
loading hazmat suits for flight attendants who might need to
take care of suspected coronavirus cases in the air.
REPATRIATIONS
The outbreak poses the biggest epidemic threat to the
airline industry since the 2003 SARS crisis, which led to a 45%
plunge in passenger demand in Asia at its peak in April of that
year, analysts said.
Air France, which maintained China flights throughout the
SARS epidemic, faced growing pressure to suspend its flights.
"When the staff see that other airlines have stopped flying
there, their reaction is 'Why are we still going?'," said Flore
Arrighi, president of UNAC, one of the airline's four main
flight attendants' unions.
The airline still plans to fly special services to China
with volunteer crews to help repatriate French nationals
stranded by the health crisis.
Its Dutch stablemate, KLM, said services linking Amsterdam
with Beijing and Shanghai will be suspended early next week,
giving customers currently in China an opportunity to return.
The spectrum of measures taken by airlines underlines how
little is known about coronavirus transmission.
Cathay Pacific has cut hot towels, blankets and
magazines from its China flights, while British Airways crews
still flying to Hong Kong are wearing gloves to hand out towels,
according to one pilot who returned recently from the city.
"The crew weren't really using their masks, although they
were given three each for the flight," he said.
(For a factbox on airlines suspending China flights, click
on)
(Reporting by Laurence Frost, Aradhana Aravindan and Chayut
Setboonsarng; Additional reporting by Caroline Pailliez in
Paris, Josephine Mason in London, John Geddie in Singapore, Panu
Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Tracy Rucinski in Chicago, Jamie Freed in
Sydney and Joyce Lee in Seoul; Writing by Jamie Freed;
Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta/ Timothy Heritage/Susan
Fenton/Alexander Smith)
