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El Al suspends flights to China due to coronavirus outbreak

The Israeli national airline follows British Airways, United, American, Air Asia, Finnair, Air India and Lufthansa in cancelling flights due to the epidemic • Flights to Beijing to resume on March 25.

An El Al Boeing 737-800, on Nov. 15, 2009. Photo: Alan Lebeda via Wikimedia Commons.
An El Al Boeing 737-800, on Nov. 15, 2009. Photo: Alan Lebeda via Wikimedia Commons.

Israel’s national airline El Al on Thursday joined the growing list of carriers suspending flights to China due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

El Al announced on Thursday that it was suspending flights to Beijing until March 25, the Israeli business daily Globes reported. It usually has three flights a week from Tel Aviv to Beijing.

British Airways, United, American, Air Asia, Finnair, Air India and Lufthansa are among the airlines to have cancelled flights to China, according to the report.

Chinese officials and the World Health Organization have confirmed more than 7,700 cases of the illness as of Thursday, reported The New York Times.

The outbreak has claimed the lives of 170 people in China so far, according to Chinese reports, with the true number likely being much higher.

“I’m happy that the University of Washington, for literally the first time ever, has made the correct decision to not have an America-hating communist spread his hatred and terrible ideology to young people at our taxpayer funded universities,” Republican state representative Travis Couture told JNS.
The cohort includes 392 new immigrants—246 men and 146 women.
The fatalities were identified as Maj. (res.) Harel Birenstock, 34, from Nokdim, and Chief Master Sgt. (res.) Tamir Vaknin, 33, from Eilat.
The announcement comes as Israeli banks are expected to end correspondent banking services to Palestinian counterparts.