Update: Airlines with Travel Restrictions (Global)

HeyXian 2020-09-03

It may be stating the obvious, but global travel is in decline due to both falling demand and travel restrictions imposed by various countries. Additionally many foreign governments advising against non-essential travel to certain countries as the outbreak persists.

Below an updated list of the airlines that have announced travel restrictions, and a list of countries that have imposed travel bans or mandatory quarantines.

With the quickly evolving situation, we recommend contacting the airline to confirm whether or not your upcoming flight will be affected. Below are details (in alphabetical order):

Airlines that have cancelled all flights to mainland China

American Airlines - Extends suspension of China and Hong Kong flights through April 24

Air France - Said on Feb. 6 it would suspend flights to and from mainland China for much of March

Air India - Suspends flights to Shanghai, Hong Kong until June 30

Air Seoul - The South Korean budget carrier suspended China flights from Jan. 28 until further notice.

Air Tanzania - Tanzania's state-owned carrier, which had planned to begin charter flights to China in February, postponed its maiden flights.

Air Mauritius - Suspended all flights to China and Hong Kong

Austrian Airlines - Until end-February.

British Airways - Jan. 29-March 31.

Delta Airlines - Feb. 2-April 30

Egyptair suspended flights on Feb. 1, but on Feb. 20 said it would resume some flights to and from China starting next week.

El Al Israel Airlines - Extended its suspension of flights to Hong Kong and Beijing until May 2.

Iberia Airlines - The Spanish carrier extended its suspension of flights from Madrid to Shanghai, its only route, from Feb. 29 until the end of April.

JejuAir Co Ltd - Korean airline to suspend all China routes starting March 1

Kenya Airways - Jan. 31 until further notice.

KLM - Will extend its ban up to March 28

Lion Air - All of February.

LOT - Extends flight suspension until March 28

Lufthansa extends China flight cancellations to March 28

Oman and Saudia, Saudi Arabia's state airline, both suspended flights on Feb. 2 until further notice.

Qatar Airways - Feb. 1 until further notice.

Rwandair - Jan. 31 until further notice.

Scoot, Singapore Airlines' low-cost carrier - Feb. 8 until further notice.

United Airlines - Feb. 5-April 23. Service to Hong Kong suspended Feb. 8-April 23.

Vietjet and Vietnam Airlines - Suspended flights to the mainland as well as Hong Kong and Macau Feb. 1-April 30, in line with its aviation authority's directive.

Airlines that have cancelled some China flights/routes

Air Canada - Extended the suspension of its flights to Beijing and Shanghai until March 27. It also suspended its Toronto to Hong Kong flights from March 1 to March 27, but its Vancouver to Hong Kong route remains active.

Air China - Said it would cancel flights to Athens, Greece, from Feb. 17 to March 18 and adjust" flights between China and the United States. On Feb. 28 it resumed flying to Frankfurt from Chengdu, following a 21-day suspension, state-run Xinhua news agency said.

Air New Zealand - Suspended Auckland-Shanghai service Feb. 9-March 29. Reduced capacity on Shanghai route throughout April and Hong Kong route throughout April and May.

ANA Holdings - Suspended routes including Shanghai and Hong Kong from Feb. 10 until further notice.

Brussels Airlines - Lufthansa subsidiary said on Feb. 28 it would cut flights to northern Italy by 30% from March 2 to 14.

Cathay Pacific Airways - Plans to cut a third of its capacity over the next two months, including 90% of flights to mainland China. It has encouraged its 27,000 employees to take three weeks of unpaid leave in a bid to preserve cash.

China Southern Airlines recommenced flights on Feb. 25 to Nairobi from Guangzhou.

Emirates and Etihad - The United Arab Emirates, a major international transit hub, suspended flights to and from China, except for Beijing. Etihad Airways also suspended flights to Hong Kong until March 28, the airline said on Feb. 26, citing a drop in demand.

The UAE suspended all flights to mainland China, except Beijing, on Feb. 5.

Finnair - Cancelled all flights to mainland China and decreased the number of flights to Hong Kong until March 28.

Hainan Airlines - Suspended flights between Budapest, Hungary, and Chongqing Feb. 7-March 27.

Kenya's High Court ordered flights from China to be temporarily suspended, following a petition.

Korean Air Lines Co. - The national flag carrier suspended eight routes to China and reduced services on nine Chinese routes between Feb. 7 and Feb. 22.

Philippine Airlines - Cut the number of flights between Manila and China by over half.

Qantas Airways - Suspended direct flights to China from Feb. 1. The Australian national carrier halted flights from Sydney to Beijing and Sydney to Shanghai between Feb. 9-March 29.

Royal Air Maroc - The Moroccan airline suspended direct flights to China Jan. 31-Feb. 29. On Jan. 16, it had launched a direct air route with three flights weekly between its Casablanca hub and Beijing.

Russia - All Russian airlines, with the exception of national airline Aeroflot, stopped flying to China from Jan. 31. Small airline Ikar will also continue flights between Moscow and China. All planes arriving from China will be sent to a separate terminal in the Moscow Sheremetyevo airport. Aeroflot reduced the frequency of flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou until Feb. 29.

Vistara Airlines makes temporary reduction in flights to and from Bangkok and Singapore.

Nordic airline SAS - Extended its suspension of flights to Shanghai and Beijing until March 29.

Singapore Airlines - Suspended or cut capacity on flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xiamen and Chongqing, some of which are flown by regional arm SilkAir.

UPS - Cancelled 22 flights to China because of the virus and normal manufacturing closures due to the Lunar New Year holiday.

Virgin Atlantic - Extended its suspension of daily operations to Shanghai until March 28.

Virgin Australia - Said it will withdraw from the Sydney-Hong Kong route from March 2 because it was "no longer a viable commercial route" due to growing concerns over the virus and civil unrest in Hong Kong.

Airlines and countries that have modified service on other routes

Asiana Airlines has decided to halt all flights to Daegu until March 9, while Korean Air Lines will also suspend flights until March 28.

Air Canada to allow travellers to rebook flights to parts of Italy at no charge. United Airlines adds South Korea to travel waiver list but is not cancelling flights.

Bahrain civil aviation authority suspends all its flights from Dubai and Sharjah airports for 48 hours.

British Airways said it would cancel some flights to and from Italy, Singapore and South Korea, as a result of reduced demand.

EasyJet said on Feb. 28 it would cancel flights, particularly in and out of Italy and cut costs across its business.

El Al Israel Airlines said it would suspend flights to Italy, including Milan and Rome from Feb. 28 to March 14, and to Bangkok from March 2-27. It will also delay launching a new route to Tokyo from March until April 4.

Kazakhstan plans to suspend flights to Iran from March 1 and reduce the number of South Korea flights

Kuwait's civil aviation authority halts all its flights to and from South Korea, Thailand, and Italy. Kuwait had earlier suspended all its flights to and from Iraq.

Lebanon halted flights for non-residents from countries including China, Iran, Italy and South Korea, the transport ministry said on Feb. 28. The ban excludes Lebanese citizens and foreign residents of the country.

Mongolia's National Emergency Commission said on Feb. 24 it had halted all flights from South Korea and would block entry through its borders until March 2. Mongolia had previously suspended all entries from China.

Oman's civil aviation authority halted all flights between the sultanate and Iran.

Royal Jordanian Airlines has suspended flights between Amman and Rome until further notice starting from Feb. 26.

Russia's Ministry of Transport said on Feb. 27 it would suspend some flights to and from Iran, except those operated by its national carrier Aeroflot and Iranian airline Mahan Air.

Tajikistan has suspended all flights to and from Iran until the virus situation there stabilises, the Civil Aviation Agency said on Feb. 24.

Tunisia may suspend some flights to Italy.

Turkish Airlines extended a cancellation of flights to Iranian cities, with the exception to flights to Tehran, until March 10.

Turkey suspended all commercial flights between Turkey and Iran until further notice. "The Iranian carriers will fly empty to Turkey and be permitted to carry passengers destined for Iran. Turkish passengers will not be transported on these flights," Turkey's Civil Aviation Authority announced on its Twitter account.

Bamboo Airways (Vietnam) suspends flights between Da Nang and Nha Trang to Seoul's Incheon International Airport, starting Feb. 26

Wizz Air said it would decrease the frequency of its Romania, Poland and Italy routes, cutting two-thirds of all flights on affected routes over three weeks between March 11 and April 2.

Sources: Reuters, Airlines Websites.

Have your plans been affected by the travels bans?

Are you planning on staying here?

Let us know!