British Airways has further extended its flight cancellations to the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai, following “the Foreign Office’s continued advice against all but essential travel to mainland China”.

Earlier this month the carrier cancelled the services until the end of March, amid ongoing concern over the spread of coronavirus.

This morning (February 21) it has updated the travel advice section of its website to confirm that the routes have now been cancelled up until April 17.

BA said that it would contact affected customers within the next 24 hours, adding that “This situation will remain under review and we will continue to provide regular updates”.

The airline has also temporarily suspended one of its two daily flights to Hong Kong until March 31, reacting to decreased demand for travel to the region.

The spare capacity is being used to increase flights to Miami, Seattle and Cape Town this spring.

This week the International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that the current coronavirus outbreak could cost the airline industry nearly $30 billion.

ba.com