New routes between mainland China and Europe are at risk as the coronavirus outbreak batters air traffic.
Privately owned Juneyao Air has opted to postpone the launch of three new services from Shanghai Pudong to Dublin, Manchester and Reykjavik. These are to be operated as multi-leg, fifth-freedom routes, via Helsinki.
“With careful consideration, Juneyao Air has decided to postpone the starting date for [the three] new services until further notice,” the carrier says in a statement on its official Facebook page.
“This has been a very hard decision for us, as we were excited at the prospect of strengthening the links between Europe and China.”
Cirium schedules data shows that over the next few months, two other Chinese carriers are planning to launch multi-leg flights that connect lesser-known Chinese cities with major airports in the country and onward European destinations.
In March, Beijing Capital Airlines is scheduled to launch Hangzhou-Madrid via Chengdu.
China Eastern is meanwhile planning to fly from Pudong to St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport in April and Moscow’s Sheremetyevo international airport in June, via Xi’an in both cases.
