Cebu Pacific cancels all flights to, from mainland China

Cebu Pacific on Saturday announced the cancellation of all flights to and from mainland China in light of the first confirmed case of Wuhan City novel coronavirus in the Philippines.

In an advisory, Cebu Pacific said it will be cancelling all flights between the Philippines and mainland China —Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Shenzhen —from February 2 to March 29, 2020.

"Flights between the Philippines, Hong Kong and Macau, on the other hand, have been reduced," it said.

The budget carrier currently operates 68 weekly flights from the Philippines to five cities in mainland China.

It also has flights to Hong Kong and Macau and has occasional charter flights from China to Kalibo and Cebu.

"Passengers affected by flight cancellations have been notified through the contact details provided upon booking. They may also check the status of their flights through the Manage Booking portal in the Cebu Pacific website, https://book.cebupacificair.com/Manage/Retrieve/," the airline said.

The following options are made available for passengers on canceled flights:

•     Rebook the flight (new flight date within 30 days of original travel date)
•     Refund the tickets in full
•     Store the value of the ticket in a Travel Fund for future use

"We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank our passengers for their understanding," Cebu Pacific said.

"We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available," it added.

On Thursday, the DOH confirmed that a 38-year-old woman from Wuhan City, China — the so-called epicenter of the deadly virus — tested positive for the 2019-nCoV.

The said patient, who is being at San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, is in stable condition, according to a source.

Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo on Friday said there were 31 suspected cases of the novel coronavirus in the Philippines. —Ted Cordero/LBG, GMA News