Philippines suspends direct flights to Wuhan, China ‘indefinitely’

MANILA, Philippines — Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) on Thursday said it would indefinitely suspend direct flights going to Wuhan, China due to the reported case of novel coronavirus or 2019-nCoV, which already killed nine and infected 440 people in China.

“Minarapat na suspendihin muna ang flights dun [Wuhan] kasi may flights na … sa Philippines so effective today suspendido lahat nung flights between Wuhan and Philippines,”  Lawyer Carmelo L. Arcilla, CAB director, said in an interview over dzMM.

(We decided to indefinitely suspend flights to Wuhan because there are flights there directly to the Philippines so effective today, flights are suspended between Wuhan and Philippines.)

Arcilla noted that they recorded at least eight flights bound to Wuhan every week. He also noted that flights to Wuhan are from new airlines including Pan Pacific and Royal Air.

The similar cases of the new virus have also reached in the United States, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.