Air New Zealand is suspending its daily flights to mainland China amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The airline currently operates daily services from Auckland to Shanghai, which will be suspended from February 9 through to March 29, it confirmed this afternoon.
"Our teams are currently putting in place alternative travel options for customers impacted by the suspension and they will be contacted directly over the coming week," Air New Zealand's Captain David Morgan says.
International travel bans due to the virus are impacting crew logistics and there's been a decline in customer bookings on the route, he says.
Travel restrictions are tightening up, with thousands of people confirmed to have the virus. (Source: Other)
Flights to Hong Kong will continue as scheduled.
It comes just hours after Australian-based airline Qantas announced its own suspensions to mainland China for the same period.
"These entry restrictions pose significant logistical challenges for rostering crew to operate mainland China services, leading to the need to temporarily suspend these flights," Qantas said in a statement this afternoon.
More than 11,000 cases of the new coronavirus have been reported worldwide, with Chinese state media reporting that 259 have died from the disease.
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