Coronavirus and flying into China

lifesavacation

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 24, 2016
My son is going on a business trip for our company and his flight has a 10 hour connection in Beijing. He's nervous about the coronavirus. I'm wondering if I should try and rebook to avoid China. I can route him through Japan if allowed to cancel his original flight. The flight is on Air China. I've tried calling their US call number and they are not accepting calls. Not sure what's up with that, but I assume it's due to the call volume. I'm about 20 minutes from PDX so I can drive there and try and cancel at the Air China booking desk. I'm just unsure what the risk is at this point. Any advice?
 


In my opinion, with this virus, you have to be careful at any airport right now, especially in Asia, since there are so many connecting flights and anyone at the airport could be flying from China. If he must go on this trip, he should wear disposable face masks and use hand sanitizer, whenever hand washing isn’t possible. Most people throughout Asia wear the masks during the cold and flu seasons, so it’s the norm, even before this coronavirus. Re routing the flight to Japan could be slightly better but I would actual prefer to not even fly Air China.
 
Is there any information on Air China's webpage about changing flights in/out of China? I'm assuming that it would be waiving change fees at this point. I'd go through Japan, but I wouldn't set foot in China at the moment. That's ground zero, plus you know it's scary when Shanghai Disney closed until further notice.
 


Thanks, everyone. I tend to worry so didn't trust my reaction. The situation seems bad enough to cancel. His final destination is Manila, and we can put a hold on the trip for now.

Is there any information on Air China's webpage about changing flights in/out of China? I'm assuming that it would be waiving change fees at this point. I'd go through Japan, but I wouldn't set foot in China at the moment. That's ground zero, plus you know it's scary when Shanghai Disney closed until further notice.

I didn't see anything on their site. I did see on the news that major hotel chains are refunding travelers who want to cancel so hopefully the air industry will follow. And I did see on the news that Shanghai Disney has closed so it must be bad if they are willing to do that during Chinese New Year.
 
I have many colleagues in China. The airport is deserted and is constantly being sterilized. As long as he stays in the airport and washes his hands frequently, he should be fine. There are very few cases in Beijing compared to Wuhan and environs.
 
Thanks, everyone. I tend to worry so didn't trust my reaction. The situation seems bad enough to cancel. His final destination is Manila, and we can put a hold on the trip for now.



I didn't see anything on their site. I did see on the news that major hotel chains are refunding travelers who want to cancel so hopefully the air industry will follow. And I did see on the news that Shanghai Disney has closed so it must be bad if they are willing to do that during Chinese New Year.

That‘s interesting my nephew is flying to Manila via China this week as well for a business trip. His mom is concerned as well.
 
Thanks, everyone. I tend to worry so didn't trust my reaction. The situation seems bad enough to cancel. His final destination is Manila, and we can put a hold on the trip for now.



I didn't see anything on their site. I did see on the news that major hotel chains are refunding travelers who want to cancel so hopefully the air industry will follow. And I did see on the news that Shanghai Disney has closed so it must be bad if they are willing to do that during Chinese New Year.
Check the State Department's website. They have issued a Level 2 travel advisory for China travel. The CDC is constantly updating their website regarding the flu and travel.

HTH
 
I am in CA right now and just spoke with the headmaster of my school in China. He is heading back to Beijing next week and has articulated that the virus situation will become worse. If you can postpone the trip or not go through China, maybe not a bad idea.
 
According to the news, the virus has now shown up in almost every province in China. It's no longer contained to Wuhan province.
 
Due to some political issues, there has been a travel advisory in effect for Canadians for quite some time regarding China. Not that I was considering it, but with the added concerns about health, you couldn't drag me to China right now. The scarier thing is that in today's world of modern mobility, this virus is already out and spreading. It's simply impossible to keep something like this contained anymore and I feel there is at least some degree of risk for one airborne contagion or another every time one boards a plane. :(
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top