Coronavirus and air travel: Airlines ditch hot meals, blankets in response to coronavirus

In the wake of the coronavirus's spread, airlines are temporarily modifying amenities on flights coming from mainland China, hoping to cut down on potentially infectious interactions between passengers and cabin crew members.

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways and Taiwan's China Airlines, along with its carriers Mandarin Airlines and Tigerair Taiwan, are among the carriers implementing changes in response to the outbreak.

Since Monday, Taiwan's China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines will reportedly no longer distribute hot meals, cloth napkins, blankets, pillows, towels, magazines and newspapers on flights between Taiwan, mainland China and Hong Kong. Passengers may get drinks and disposable headphones on request. Tigerair Taiwan has halted duty-free services and removed all items from seat back pockets except the safety information and sick bag.

China Airlines has not responded to requests for comment.

On Wednesday, Cathay Pacific Airways announced it would take similar precautions, temporarily changing in-flight services on all Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon flights travelling to and from mainland China. The carrier is no longer providing blankets, magazines and hot towels on flights travelling between mainland China, or offering in-flight duty-free sales. It is also altering its meal service for first- and business-class cabins, and ending trolley services. In economy cabins, passengers on medium- to long-duration mainland China flights will be served a disposable snack bag.

"This modified service offering is strictly a temporary measure designed to further strengthen our health and safety protocols in light of the evolving situation regarding coronavirus cases in mainland China," Cathay Pacific Group said in a statement. "We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to coordinate with the health authorities in Hong Kong and in all the ports to which we operate flights."

On Thursday, the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus outbreak a global public health emergency. The virus has now infected nearly 10,000 people and killed more than 200. In response, the United States has issued its highest level of travel advisory for China. Twenty ports of entry airports across the country are expanding screening for the new strain of coronavirus, and dozens of carriers including Delta Air Lines and American Airlines are halting all flights to mainland China.

For those travelling by plane, it's not clear whether measures like avoiding hot meals or blankets are useful for avoiding infection, because information about the new coronavirus strain is evolving.