Air India extends suspension of its China flights till June 30

India's flag carrier airline, Air India, on Thursday suspended all flights to mainland China till June 20 in view of the Novel Coronavirus outbreak in the country. Earlier, the state-owned national carrier had suspended flights till March 28.

The coronavirus epidemic has claimed the lives of at least 2,118 people so far.

According to Zee Media sources, the decision by Air India to suspend all flights to China till June 20 was taken during a high-level meeting held on Wednesday evening. The Air India CMD is expected to make a formal announcement in this regard today. Earlier, Chinese envoy Sun Weidong had urged India to reconsider the steps taken by the country in the backdrop of the coronavirus outbreak.

In a related development, the Indian Air Force's (IAF) largest plane, C-17 Globemaster's scheduled flight on Thursday to coronavirus affected city Wuhan in China to evacuate Indians stranded there was delayed due to technical reasons.