IndiGo suspends Delhi-Chengdu, Bengaluru-Hong Kong flights from Feb 1 amid coronavirus scare

Amid rising coronavirus scare, air carrier IndiGo has decided to temporarily suspend its Delhi-Chengdu and Bengaluru-Hong Kong flights as a precautionary measure in the wake of an outbreak of the deadly virus in China.

"After carefully assessing the current coronavirus situation in China, IndiGo is taking some safety measures for its customers, crew and the staff. Due to China travel restrictions, we have seen a high number of cancellations from China on our Delhi-Chengdu route and vice-versa. Therefore, we are suspending our flights between Delhi and Chengdu from February 01, 2020 until February 20, 2020. We are also suspending our Bengaluru-Hong Kong flight effective February 01, 2020," IndiGo said in a press statement.

IndiGo announced to refund the full amount to the passengers who are affected by the decision.

However, the airline will continue to operate and monitor Kolkata-Guangzhou flight. "For our operating crew, we are ensuring that they return to India on the inbound flights without any layover in China," read the statement.

A total of 33,552 passengers arriving in India from China in 155 flights have been screened for possible coronavirus infection.

The virus for which there is no effective vaccine was reported on January 16 in Japan, the first case outside China and its territories.

The death toll from novel coronavirus in China skyrocketed to 106 on Tuesday.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus is a new strain that had not been previously identified in humans.

Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death.