Last flight from SFO to China for six weeks
Last flight from SFO to mainland China for 6 weeks
If you’re in San Francisco and need to get to mainland China, your last chance for the next six weeks is on Friday. The last direct flight, from China Southern Airlines, departs from San Francisco International Airport at 10:40 p.m. Friday, arriving in Guangzhou on Sunday. Elissa Harrington reports
SAN FRANCISCO - The last flight from San Francisco to China leaves SFO on Friday for at least six weeks; it’s the latest trend as more and more airlines are cancelling flights because of coronavirus concerns.
The flight leaves at 10:40 p.m. on China Southern Airlines, and a flight is coming in from China about 6 p.m.
After that, Bay Areae travelers will have to wait at least six weeks to fly direct to China, as the country announced another spike in coronavirus cases.
As of Sunday, all other airlines have already ended their flights to mainland China from SFO, which normally has more departures to China than any other U.S. airport except for Los Angeles International, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Flights are not scheduled to resume until the end of March.
Many flights to Hong Kong, including those on United Airlines, have also been canceled — but not all: SFO still has 21 round trips per week through the end of March.
Bay Area residents can still get to China after Friday, but they will have to connect through LAX or John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where China Southern is still running flights, according to its website.
On Friday, China reported 5,000 new cases, raising the number worldwide to more than 65,000. The illness has claimed nearly 1,400 lives.
Expperts believe the sharp rise does not represent a major surge in the outbreak, but rather, the numbers reflect a change in how China is now diagnosing cases.
The CDC has confirmed a 15th case of coronavirus in the United States. A patient who was recently evacuated from China, and had been under federal quarantine at a military base in Texas.