Airlines cut flights to South Korea as China steps up MERS alert

Two passengers bound for South Korea go through border checks at an airport in Qingdao, an eastern coastal city close to South Korea, Shandong province, on June 5, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Airlines cut flights to South Korea

China's civil aviation regulator has also ordered all airline companies to strengthen prevention and control of MERS for flights between China and the ROK on Friday.

Airline companies operating flights between the two countries should increase flight crew's awareness of the disease, intensify disinfection of airplanes and act quickly in treatment of suspected MERS cases, said a statement of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Some domestic airlines in China have decided to suspend some flights to the ROK.

Sichuan Airlines said it will suspend its direct flights to Jeju, one of the ROK's leading destinations for Chinese tourists, for one month, after the final flight on Friday.

Despite no official travel warning from the government, Chinese travelers are feeling jittery over visits to the ROK due to the MERS epidemic.

Chinese travel agencies predict a 70-percent drop or more in summer travel to the ROK as fearful tourists urgently book alternative destinations.

Judging from the current situation, the possibility of isolated MERS cases in China cannot be ruled out, but an epidemic is not likely, said Jin Qi, director of the Institute of Pathogen Biology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

"Having gone through SARS, China now has a high awareness of potential epidemics and its monitoring and testing technologies are significantly improved," he said, adding China can handle an outbreak of communicable diseases.

A deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic spread across China in 2003. It was a watershed event in the country's public health history that prompted huge preparation efforts for disease outbreaks and changes in transparency of information.