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Coronavirus: SilkAir to suspend flights indefinitely to Hiroshima due to weak demand
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SilkAir started flying the Singapore-Hiroshima route in October 2017. (Shutterstock/Sudpoth Sirirattanasakul )
S
ingapore Airlines' regional wing, SilkAir, will suspend flights to Japan's Hiroshima on the back of weak demand, which has been made worse by the coronavirus outbreak.
SilkAir said on Tuesday that the last flight for MI867 will be from Hiroshima to Singapore on March 26. The flights will be suspended indefinitely.
It said it will contact all affected customers and arrange to accommodate them on other flights.
Those who need further assistance can contact SIA's Japan reservations office at +81-3-3213-3431 or the 24-hour reservations call centre in Singapore at +65 6223-8888.
SilkAir started flying the Singapore-Hiroshima route in October 2017.
It had said then that the Japanese city was popular with Singaporeans because of its historical significance, good weather and proximity to various attractions in neighboring cities.
The move is the latest one by the Singapore Airlines Group - made up of national carrier SIA, SilkAir and budget arm Scoot - to cut costs as it adjusts to plummeting demand due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The group has suspended more than 3,000 flights from February to end-May, accounting for 9.9 percent of the group's scheduled capacity.
SIA Group said on Tuesday that it regularly reviews its flight network and will remain nimble in adjusting capacity to demand.
It said the group remains committed to the Japanese market and that it currently still flies to six areas in Japan - Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo-Haneda and Tokyo-Narita.
This article appeared on The Straits Times newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
