UPDATE 4: Utair, Pobeda, Ural Airlines, S7 ban flights over virus

(releads, adds details in paragraph 7)

MOSCOW/YEKATERINBURG, Mar 16 (PRIME) -- Russian airline Utair has suspended flights to and from Uzbekistan, low-cost airline Pobeda will suspend flights to Tivat in Montenergo, Ural Airlines will halt 14 more flights, and S7 Airlines all regular flights to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan due to the spread of the coronavirus, the companies said on Monday.

“Utair suspends flights to/from Bukhara, Samarkand, Fergana from March 16 until April 15, to/from Tashkent from March 20 until April 15,” the company said in a statement.

The passengers with tickets for the cancelled flights can swap them at the call center. Utair will fully refund tickets to the passengers who want to cancel the flights.

Pobeda will suspend the flights from Wednesday. Ticket refund is automatic for all customers of the airline.

Pobeda will carry five flights to take passengers back to Moscow from Tuesday until Thursday.

The list of suspended destinations of Ural Airlines now comprises Domodedovo–Larnaca, Zhukovsky–Almaty from Tuesday, Perm–Prague from Wednesday, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg–Prague, Zhukovsky–Budapest from Thursday. Yekaterinburg–Almaty, Rostov-on-Don–Prague from Friday, Domodedovo–Salzburg, Krasnodar–Larnaca, Zhukovsky–Amsterdam, Domodedovo–Munich from Saturday.

S7 Airlines will suspend the regular flights to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan from Monday. Charter flights will be organized to take passengers home.

S7 Airlines ordered some of the cabin crew to go on paid vacations because of a flight schedule cut.

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