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British Airways has suspended all direct flights to and from mainland China as concerns grow over the coronavirus outbreak.
The move comes after the UK government warned against all but essential travel to the country, where 132 people have been killed by the rapidly spreading disease.
BA’s website shows no direct flights to mainland China available in January or February. The UK's flag carrier usually operates daily flights from Heathrow Airport to Shanghai and Beijing.
“We apologise to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority,” the airline in a statement on Wednesday. “Customers due to travel to or from China in the coming days can find more information on BA.com.”
BA is to continue its two daily flights from Hong Kong, which is not covered by the government travel warning. Passengers who were due to fly from Beijing or Shanghai to Heathrow are likely to be moved to Hong Kong.
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Created with Sketch.
1/50 28 January 2020
Torches are lit using a flare ahead of the Up Helly Aa Viking festival. Originating in the 1880s, the festival celebrates Shetland's Norse heritage
PA
2/50 27 January 2020
England bowler Mark Wood is lifted aloft by Joe Root after taking the final wicket of South Africa to win the match and series during day four of the Fourth Test at Wanderers in Johannesburg
Getty
3/50 26 January 2020
Performers taking part in a parade involving costumes, lion dances and floats, during Chinese New Year celebrations in central London, which marks the Year of the Rat
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4/50 25 January 2020
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5/50 24 January 2020
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6/50 23 January 2020
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7/50 22 January 2020
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8/50 21 January 2020
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9/50 20 January 2020
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11/50 18 January 2020
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12/50 17 January 2020
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13/50 16 January 2020
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14/50 15 January 2020
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15/50 14 January 2020
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16/50 13 January 2020
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17/50 12 January 2020
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18/50 11 January 2020
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19/50 10 January 2020
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20/50 9 January 2020
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21/50 8 January 2020
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22/50 7 January 2020
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23/50 6 January 2020
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24/50 5 January 2020
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25/50 4 January 2020
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26/50 3 January 2020
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27/50 2 January 2020
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28/50 1 January 2020
Peter Wright celebrates winning with the Sid Waddell trophy at the Darts World Championships in London. He stunned Michael van Gerwen to clinch his first title 7-3
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29/50 31 December 2019
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30/50 30 December 2019
Deer graze in the morning mist as cyclists ride by in Richmond Park, London
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31/50 29 December 2019
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32/50 28 December 2019
The Harlequins players arrive at the stadium prior to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Big Game 12 match between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers at Twickenahm Stadium
Getty Images for Harlequins
33/50 27 December 2019
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34/50 26 December 2019
Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow
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35/50 25 December 2019
Swimmers of the Serpentine Swimming Club take part in the Peter Pan Cup race, which is held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine, in central London
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36/50 24 December 2019
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37/50 23 December 2019
Reggie the dog is rescued with a boat from flooding at the Little Venice Country Park and Marina in Maidstone
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38/50 22 December 2019
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39/50 21 December 2019
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40/50 20 December 2019
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41/50 19 December 2019
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42/50 18 December 2019
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43/50 17 December 2019
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44/50 16 December 2019
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45/50 15 December 2019
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46/50 14 December 2019
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47/50 13 December 2019
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48/50 12 December 2019
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49/50 11 December 2019
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50/50 10 December 2019
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1/50 28 January 2020
Torches are lit using a flare ahead of the Up Helly Aa Viking festival. Originating in the 1880s, the festival celebrates Shetland's Norse heritage
PA
2/50 27 January 2020
England bowler Mark Wood is lifted aloft by Joe Root after taking the final wicket of South Africa to win the match and series during day four of the Fourth Test at Wanderers in Johannesburg
Getty
3/50 26 January 2020
Performers taking part in a parade involving costumes, lion dances and floats, during Chinese New Year celebrations in central London, which marks the Year of the Rat
PA
4/50 25 January 2020
A couple walks along the Basingstoke canal near to Dogmersfield in Hampshire
PA
5/50 24 January 2020
Boris Johnson gestures as he watches a performance during celebrations for Chinese Lunar New Year at Downing Street in London
Reuters
6/50 23 January 2020
Gabriella Zaghari-Ratcliffe stands next to her father Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and his mother Barbara, as they address the media in Downing Street following a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson
PA
7/50 22 January 2020
Rosa Connolly takes a close look during a preview of the Tyrannosaurs exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
PA
8/50 21 January 2020
The sun sets behind tower cranes and the London skyline in the city financial district
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9/50 20 January 2020
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, speaks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson as they attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel in London. Johnson is hosting African leaders and senior government representatives along with British and African businesses during the UK-Africa Investment Summit, aimed at strengthening the UKs economic partnership with African nations
Getty
10/50 19 January 2020
Joe Root celebrates with his England team mates after taking the wicket of Rassie van der Dussen during day four of the third Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth. He took a career-best four wickets during the day's play, which saw the home side follow on in their second innings. They trail England by 188 runs going into day five
Getty
11/50 18 January 2020
Drag queens pose on the pink carpet as they participate in the "Queen's Walk" during RuPaul's DragCon UK at Kensington Olympia
AFP via Getty
12/50 17 January 2020
Kitty Ross, curator of social history, is pictured reflected in a display cabinet while holding a skeleton violin from the 1880s that forms part of the Sounds of our City exhibition at the Abbey House Museum in Leeds
PA
13/50 16 January 2020
Britain's Harry, Duke of Sussex (C), hosts the Rugby League World Cup 2021 draw in the gardens of Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, 16 Ja​nuary 2020. The Duke, who is expected to step back from senior Royal duties, spoke with Ruby League ambassadors and children from St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School in London
EPA
14/50 15 January 2020
Vehicles negotiate the flooded B4069 road at Christian Malford in Wiltshire after the river Avon burst its banks
PA
15/50 14 January 2020
Huge waves hit the sea wall in Porthcawl, Wales, as gales of up to 80mph from Storm Brendan caused disruption around the UK
PA
16/50 13 January 2020
Puppeteers from Vision Mechanic rehearsing with Scotland's largest puppet, a ten-metre tall sea goddess called Storm, in the grounds of the Museum of Flight, East Lothian. Made entirely from recycled materials, it was unveiled ahead of its debut at the Celtic Connections Costal Day celebrations in Glasgow this weekend
PA
17/50 12 January 2020
A windsurfer jumps in the air after hitting a wave in the sea off of West Wittering beach in West Sussex
PA
18/50 11 January 2020
Mikuru Suzuki celebrates winning the women's championship of the BDO World Professional Darts Championships 2020 in London
PA
19/50 10 January 2020
One of seven new lion cubs at the West Midlands Safari Park in Kidderminster
PA
20/50 9 January 2020
Rawson Robinson, from Nenthead, on the Cumbria and Northumberland border clears snow from the model village he has built in his garden
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21/50 8 January 2020
People read messages written on the David Bowie mural in Brixton, south London, on what would have been the singer's 73rd birthday
PA
22/50 7 January 2020
England's Stuart Broad celebrates with teammate Ben Stokes after the dismissal of South Africa's Rassie van der Dussen during the fifth day of the second Test cricket match in Cape Town. Stokes claimed the last three wickets in the space of 14 deliveries to wrap up a 189-run win
AFP via Getty
23/50 6 January 2020
Protesters in London take part in a demonstration in support of a British woman found guilty of lying about being gang raped in Cyprus
AP
24/50 5 January 2020
Protesters demonstrate outside the US Embassy in London, after America killed Iran's general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad's international airport
PA
25/50 4 January 2020
Metropolitan police cordon off Charteris Road close to the junction with Lennox Road in Finsbury Park in north London, after a man was stabbed to death on Friday evening, the first murder in London in 2020
PA
26/50 3 January 2020
Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London after the US killed General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad's international airport. Soleimani was head of Tehran's elite Quds Force and Iran's top general
PA
27/50 2 January 2020
A keeper counts squirrel-monkeys at London Zoo during the annual stocktake. Caring for more than 500 different species, ZSL London Zoo's keepers face the challenging task of tallying up every mammal, bird, reptile, fish and invertebrate at the Zoo
AP
28/50 1 January 2020
Peter Wright celebrates winning with the Sid Waddell trophy at the Darts World Championships in London. He stunned Michael van Gerwen to clinch his first title 7-3
PA
29/50 31 December 2019
Surfers at Tynemouth on the north east coast
PA
30/50 30 December 2019
Deer graze in the morning mist as cyclists ride by in Richmond Park, London
Reuters
31/50 29 December 2019
Night sky after the sunset at Whitley Bay in Northumberland
PA
32/50 28 December 2019
The Harlequins players arrive at the stadium prior to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Big Game 12 match between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers at Twickenahm Stadium
Getty Images for Harlequins
33/50 27 December 2019
A car drives through floodwater near Harbridge, north of Ringwood in Hampshire, after the river Avon burst its banks
PA
34/50 26 December 2019
Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow
EPA
35/50 25 December 2019
Swimmers of the Serpentine Swimming Club take part in the Peter Pan Cup race, which is held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine, in central London
PA
36/50 24 December 2019
Shoppers bid for cuts of meat during a Christmas Eve auction in Smithfield market in London
EPA
37/50 23 December 2019
Reggie the dog is rescued with a boat from flooding at the Little Venice Country Park and Marina in Maidstone
AFP via Getty
38/50 22 December 2019
People gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to mark the winter solstice, and to witness the sunrise after the longest night of the year
PA
39/50 21 December 2019
Southampton's Jack Stephens scores their second goal against Aston Villa
Reuters
40/50 20 December 2019
The coffin arrives for the funeral of London Bridge terror attack victim Jack Merritt at Great St Mary's Church in Cambridge
PA
41/50 19 December 2019
Queen Elizabeth II and her son Prince Charles walk behind the Imperial State Crown as they proccess through the Royal Gallery, before the Queen's Speech, during the State Opening of Parliament
AFP via Getty
42/50 18 December 2019
Luke Jerram's art installation 'Gaia', a replica of planet earth created using detailed Nasa imagery of the Earth's surface, hangs on display at the Eden Project in St Austell, Cornwall
PA
43/50 17 December 2019
A surfer gets into the festive spirit at the inland surfing lagoon at The Wave, near Bristol
PA
44/50 16 December 2019
Snowy conditions near Deepdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park as snow hits parts of the UK
PA
45/50 15 December 2019
Oisin Carson, 5, picks a Christmas tree at Wicklow Way Christmas tree farm in Roundwood
PA
46/50 14 December 2019
First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, takes a selfie as she joins the SNPs newly elected MPs for a group photo outside the V&A Museum in Dundee, Scotland
Getty Images
47/50 13 December 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds arrive back at Downing Street after the results for the general election were announced. The Conservative Party won with an overall majority
EPA
48/50 12 December 2019
A dog outside a polling station during the general election in Northumberland
Reuters
49/50 11 December 2019
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson stands between a Stop Brexit sign as she attends a general election campaign event at Esher Rugby Club, south west London. Britain will go to the polls tomorrow to vote
AFP via Getty
50/50 10 December 2019
A surfer off the North East coast at Tynemouth
PA
The Foreign Office travel warning was widened on Tuesday to encompass the whole of mainland China as coronavirus infections in the country surged to nearly 6,000. The government had previously only advised against travel to Hubei province, where virus originated in the city of Wuhan.
The UK is finalising plans to evacuate hundreds of Britons from the province, with a deadline for those who want to leave to contact the UK consulate passing at 3am GMT (11am local time) on Wednesday.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said government officials were “working urgently to finalise arrangements for an assisted departure from Hubei province for British nationals this week, and are in contact with people in Hubei to ensure they register their interest and that we can keep them updated”.
It is estimated up to 200 British citizens in Wuhan and the surrounding area will be evacuated.
Baroness Morgan, the culture secretary, said BA’s decision to suspend flights to and from China would give “more impetus” to the government’s bid to arrange emergency travel.
“The Foreign Office will be working with staff on the ground to identify UK nationals,” the Conservative peer told the BBC’s Breakfast. “We will get people home as soon as we can, as soon as we can make arrangements.
“Obviously, today’s decision by British Airways provides more impetus to the government to make other plans and communicate those.”
There have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK – with 97 people tested for the disease given the all-clear – but Public Health England has warned it may have reached the country.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said people who return from Wuhan should “self-isolate” for 14 days – the virus’s incubation period – even if they are showing no symptoms.
Four cases of the disease have been confirmed in Germany, making it the second European nation affected, after France.
Several countries – including France, Germany, South Korea, the US, and Japan – have begun operations to evacuate citizens from the epicentre of the outbreak in China.
Major Chinese cities have been placed on lockdown in a bid to stop the spread of the virus, while in Wuhan authorities are racing to build two dedicated hospitals for victims.