More than 1,200 flights in and out of Beijing were canceled Wednesday, state media reported, as the Chinese capital wrestles with a fresh coronavirus outbreak that’s infected at least 130 people.
The flight information pages on the websites of Beijing’s two airports were littered with red boxes in the “status” column to indicate flights were canceled to Guangzhou, Qingdao, Shanghai and other cities across the country. They included routes operated by the three biggest Chinese carriers: Air China Ltd., China Eastern Airlines Corp. and China Southern Airlines Ltd.
Beijing Capital International Airport Co.’s flight departure page alone showed more than 80 cancellations for Wednesday morning, and about 50 inbound flights were canceled. The website of nine-month-old Daxing International Airport in the south of the city showed similar cuts.
A post on the People’s Daily Twitter account said 1,255 flights were canceled at the two airports, amounting to nearly 70% of those scheduled. Meanwhile, China State Railway Group Co. offered refunds to passengers who bought train tickets before midnight Tuesday. Some cross-provincial coach journeys were also canceled, according to Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport’s website.
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