SACRAMENTO, Calif. — If you're traveling to or from Sacramento International Airport on Friday, you might notice some parts of the airport will look a little empty.
The U.S. State Department has issued a new advisory warning Americans not to travel to China because of the Coronavirus.
According to Mark Haneke, Sacramento County Airport System’s Air Service Development Marketing Manager, dozens of passengers travel to China from Sacramento every day.
“They fly via San Francisco, Los Angeles and or Seattle,” Haneke told ABC10.
Most passengers, Haneke said, go through Terminal A since they fly with American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines and their travel plans “would most likely be impacted,” he explained.
As of Friday morning, United Airlines had suspended 48 flights between the U.S. and China. Beginning Saturday Feb. 1st, flights between San Francisco and China are temporarily going off the books for now and are set to resume Feb. 9.
Those suspended flights include four flights between San Francisco and Hong Kong and 12 flights between San Francisco and Shanghai.
In a statement, United Airlines said that the suspensions are due to "load factors," such as not enough bookings on the flights, and not due to virus fears. The airline will continue to operate thrice-weekly flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu from San Francisco. The airline is now offering full refunds to passengers.
United Airlines was the first airline to cancel any flights to or from China amid the virus crisis, but American Airlines also suspended flights soon after.
American Airlines said it was suspending all flights to and from mainland China immediately through March 27. That includes flights connecting Los Angeles to Beijing and Shanghai.
Delta Airlines also announced it will reduce the number of weekly flights to China, canceling some of them from Seattle to Beijing and Shanghai.
Amid the travel warning, most passengers at Sacramento International Airport agreed the decision to suspend flights is a good one.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Martin Kim said. He was traveling to Florida this weekend and says he would not travel to China knowing the risks. “I’m not an expert, but we should trust those who have a credible background.”
Hyunsoo Kim, also traveling to Florida from SMF, said the Coronavirus scares her and people should take all the measures necessary. “I think that it’s better to take the precautions before things get worse. We can just see how things go as we learn more about the virus. For now, I just think it’s better to stay on the safe side,” she said.
Meanwhile, the union representing pilots at American Airlines is suing the company to stop flights from China. The Allied Pilots Association, which represents American's 15,000 pilots, asked a state district court in Dallas for an injunction to stop the flights immediately.
Delta Airlines and United Airlines pilots are being allowed to refuse flights without pay, according to a Wednesday memo from their union to members.
Other major carriers have kept flying to China, but protective masks and shorter layovers designed to reduce exposure have done little to reassure crews.
As of Friday, officials at the Sacramento International Airport have not announced any major preventive majors at terminals.
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