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* FACTBOX-Airlines suspend China flights
By David Shepardson, Laurence Frost and Aradhana Aravindan
WASHINGTON/PARIS/SINGAPORE, Jan 30 (Reuters) - A pilots
union filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to immediately halt
American Airlines U.S.-China service, as cabin crews
worldwide voiced unease about exposure to the rapidly-spreading
coronavirus which has killed more than 170 people in China.
The Allied Pilots Association, which represents American
Airlines pilots, cited "serious, and in many ways still unknown,
health threats posed by the coronavirus."
American, the largest U.S. carrier, did not immediately
comment on the suit, filed in a Texas court. The Fort Worth,
Texas-based airline announced on Wednesday it would next month
suspend flights from Los Angeles to Beijing and Shanghai, but
continue flights from Dallas.
The World Health Organization on Thursday declared the
coronavirus outbreak in China a global emergency as cases spread
to 18 countries.
The lawsuit came as an increasing number of airlines stopped
their flights to China. Air France-KLM, for example,
suspended its Beijing and Shanghai flights after cabin crews
demanded an immediate halt.
Others that have dropped mainland Chinese destinations
besides Wuhan, the outbreak's centre, include British Airways
and Germany's Lufthansa. Wuhan is closed to
commercial air traffic.
Virgin Atlantic also said on Thursday it would suspend its
daily operations to Shanghai from Sunday for two weeks because
of the safety of customers and staff and a declining demand for
tickets, but would continue flights to Hong Kong.
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."
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are
operating fewer China flights, with Delta offering 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.
The South Korean carrier also said it was loading hazmat
suits for flight attendants who might need to take care of
suspected coronavirus cases in the air.
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.
(Reporting by Laurence Frost, Aradhana Aravindan, Chayut
Setboonsarng, David Shepardson and Tracy Rucinski Additional
reporting by Caroline Pailliez in Paris, Josephine Mason in
London, John Geddie in Singapore, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok,
Jamie Freed in Sydney and Joyce Lee in Seoul; Writing by Jamie
Freed and Tracy Rucinski;
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
