Virgin Atlantic’s first flight to Brazil, between London and São Paulo, scheduled for March 29, has been postponed to October 5, the airline said on Thursday. The change in plans is part of a series of actions taken by the British company due to the advancement of the coronavirus in Europe.
“We have been monitoring the situation of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) around the world very closely, and how the demand for air travel has changed with this situation. As a result, we decided to take some immediate action in relation to our routes, in order to keep the company and our customers in a safe position in the coming months, ”said Virgin Atlantic.
The company asks all passengers with reservations to contact their call center to discuss flight rescheduling and refunds.
The airline of businessman Richard Branson had announced its first route in South America in March 2019. Virgin’s flight between London and São Paulo is expected to be daily and will be operated with Boeing 787-9 jets for 264 passengers – 31 on Upper Class, 35 in the Premium class and 198 in the economy class.
In addition to Brazil, Virgin Atlantic suspended its flights from London to Shanghai, China, and reduced the frequency of flights between the British capital and Hong Kong. The company is also restricting the boarding of passengers who have passed through China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Iran, South Korea, Macau and Italy over the past 14 days.
Like other airlines, Virgin will not charge fees for changing flight dates between March 4 and March 31.
