Qantas cancels its flights to China

Qantas will halt its direct services to mainland China (Sydney-Beijing and Sydney-Shanghai) from February 9 until March 29 in response to the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak.

This follows entry restrictions imposed by countries including Singapore and the United States, which impact the movement of crew who work across the Qantas international network.

These entry restrictions pose significant logistical challenges for rostering crew to operate mainland China services, leading to the need to temporarily suspend these flights.

There is no change to Qantas services to Hong Kong as that destination is exempt from current travel restrictions.

Qantas said it is is working to balance high passenger numbers in both directions - including Australian residents wanting to return home from China - with the various travel restrictions being applied.

The suspension may be brought forward if demand levels or other factors change. The date for flights to resume will also be regularly reviewed based on the circumstances.

Qantas said it is liaising closely with the Australian Government on the impact of these changes to citizens currently in mainland China, and continues to take advice from the World Health Organisation and Australia's Chief Medical Officer regarding the Coronavirus in its decision-making.

Customers with bookings between February 9 and March 29 are advised to speak to their travel agent to discuss travel options. 

Customers who have booked directly through Qantas or Qantas Business Rewards should contact Qantas to discuss options. 

Qantas' Sydney-Beijing service was scheduled to end on February 23 for commercial reasons. It will now end on February 9 instead.