Corona Panic: Sichuan Airlines operates an MTA line to Chengdu, located approximately 1,200 km targeted by the outbreak of the virus • The company's flights will be canceled in the next two weeks

• Photo by GettyImages

First airline cancels flights from Israel to China: Sichuan Airlines has announced it is canceling all flights from Israel to and from China. The Chinese airline operates twice-weekly flights on the Tel Aviv-Chengdu line and, according to the announcement, all flights on this route will be canceled for at least the next two weeks.

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The distance between Chengdu, from which flights to Israel were canceled, to the point where the epidemic broke out in Wuhan, is 1,200 kilometers - about 14 hours drive.

Sichuan Airlines is the first company to cancel flights from China to Israel following the Corona virus that has taken the lives of dozens of victims in China. At present, airlines: Cathay Pacific, EL AL and Hainan continue to operate flights to various destinations in China, but allow cancellation of the airline tickets or change the flight itself.

Vaughan Senior High Street // Photo: Reuters

So far, several thousands have been infected across Asia and a few more in the United States and Europe. It is unclear how likely the virus is to spread and how it will affect the aviation world. So far, Sichuan Airlines has canceled its flights to Israel from February 12 through February 26. The last flight in February will depart on the 9th, while the flights will resume on March 2.

The official death toll from the outbreak of the Corona virus in China has risen to 81 today, and the number of people infected is approaching 3,000 as state authorities struggle to deal with the outbreak.

Meanwhile, the country's national health committee this morning decided to extend the Chinese New Year's holiday to Sunday, a three-day extension that will cost the Chinese economy billions of dollars, with the goal of trying to delay the spread of the disease.