Coronavirus outbreak: Air India cancels flights to Shanghai, Hong Kong till June 30

Amid the unprecedented outbreak of deadly coronavirus, Air India has further cancelled its flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong till June 30. The novel coronavirus which has now claimed over 2,112 lives, is also been affecting the businesses worldwide. Earlier this month, Air India had suspended all its flights to China till March 28. In order to contain further spread, Singapore Airlines also announced that it will temporarily cut flights across its global network including Mumbai. 

Read - Coronavirus Cases On Japan Cruise Ship Rise To 634: Ministry

Australia's Qantas announced that it will slash flights to Asia as the coronavirus crisis cuts into the airline and travel industries. The decision to reduce the carrier's overall capacity to Asia reportedly by 16 per cent until at least the end of May is expected to cut between $67 million to $100 million from Qantas' earning this year. The airline said in a statement that the recent move will affect the services in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The virus which had started from the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year and has now spread to at least 27 countries. 

Read - Iran Announces 3 New Cases Of Coronavirus After 2 Deaths

Travel restrictions after the outbreak

Immediately following the outbreak, Chian had imposed quarantine and travel restrictions in the Hubei province. Several airlines around the world have cancelled their flights to mainland China and Hong Kong. The Chinese province of Hubei has reported 108 deaths including 88 in just Wuhan from the virus officially now named as Covid-19. Moreover, outside China, eight deaths have been recorded across the world including two in Iran on February 19. 

With businesses halting, and factories cancelling productions in China and other Asian countries, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das reportedly said that the coronavirus outbreak will have limited impact on India but the global GDP and trade is likely to get affected due to the large size of the Chinese economy. This comes as China suffers from the slowest economy in the last three decades. The outbreak has also raised concerns about destabilization of the world economy but in India, only some sectors will face disruptions including pharmaceutical and electronic manufacturing sectors.

Read - Coronavirus Outbreak: List Of Fashion Shows, Movie Premieres Cancelled Due To The Epidemic

Read - India''s Third Coronavirus Patient Discharged From Hospital In Kerala

(With inputs from agencies)