MALAYSIA Airlines Bhd (MAB) has announced full refund for cancellation and a one-time flight change with waiver of change/cancellation fees for flights to and from mainland China due to the coronavirus outbreak in the republic.
MAB said in a statement yesterday that passengers holding Malaysia Airlines’ confirmed tickets issued on or/before Jan 28, 2020, for travel from Jan 28 until Feb 29, 2020, to/from mainland China (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen) will be permitted a cancellation with full refund or a one-time flight change with waiver of change/cancellation fees (applies to partially used and wholly unused tickets).
The move was made following Sarawak Disaster Management Committee Secretariat’s decision to impose a temporary entry restriction into Sarawak to all citizens of China and other foreigners who have travelled to China in the last 14 days, with immediate effect.
MAB also said revised/alternative travel date must be on/ before May 31, 2020, subject to flight availability.
According to the airline, those with employment passes, student passes and long special passes will be allowed entry and subject to a compulsory self-quarantine at home for 14 days.
“Effective Feb 2, 2020, Malaysia Airlines passengers travelling to Sarawak (those besides the above mentioned) will be required to fill in the health declaration form
following the latest entry requirement imposed by the Sarawak Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Health,” it added.
The airline’s ground staff will be distributing the form at the boarding area prior to departure to passengers travelling on Kuala Lumpur (KL)-Kuching, KL-Miri, KL-Sibu, KL-Bintulu, Kota Kinabalu-Kuching and Singapore-Kuching flights.
Last week, Sabah government announced that it is temporarily suspending all direct flights from China to the state in its effort to reduce the risks of exposing people to any possible carriers of the virus.
The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) described the state’s decision as a “bold move”.
“The decision to suspend all China flight routes to and from Sabah, is a bold move by the state government and one that is designed to protect the people currently in Sabah, including tourists,” MATTA president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said in a statement.
“We hope that this will only be a temporary measure and this ban will quickly be lifted as soon as the situation subsides, and that travel between Sabah and China will resume as normal.”
“MATTA’s position throughout this crisis has been consistent in that we have always placed the health, safety and security of people, both Malaysians and tourists alike, as a top priority.”
Global travel and data analytics expert Cirium said nearly 10,000 flights have been suspended since the outbreak of the coronavirus in China.
Cirium statistics show that 9,807 scheduled flights within, to and from mainland China did not fly from Jan 23. The data spans the period from the day before the first reported flight cancellation to Jan 28 — the latest day for which figures are available.
“Cirium data clearly shows the dramatic impact that coronavirus is having, with nearly 10,000 scheduled flights to, from and within China being suspended between Jan 23 and 28,” Peter Morris, chief economist at Ascend by Cirium, said in a statement.
Other airlines have also suspended its operation of flight routes to China such as Qatar Airways which said the suspension will be effective today due to “significant operational challenges” arising from the outbreak.
Recently, Vietnam Airlines and Jetstar Pacific Airlines Joint Stock Aviation Co have said that it will suspend the operation of flight routes between Vietnam and China, Taiwan and Hong Kong starting Feb 1.