Delhi smog so bad United Airlines suspends flights
Delhi’s smog has deteriorated to such a level, United Airlines cancelled flights to the city.
The airline scrapped services over the weekend due to the worsening air quality which has seen schools in the city closed.
"United has temporarily suspended Newark-Delhi flights due to poor air quality concerns in Delhi and currently has waiver policies in place for customers who are travelling to, from or through Delhi. We are monitoring advisories as the region remains under a public health emergency and are coordinating with respective government agencies," an airline spokesman said.
United has rebooked passengers on other flights, and may resume flights on Monday if conditions improve.
That looks unlikely at the moment.
More than 6,000 schools were closed and hospitals have been swamped with patients complaining of breathlessness and wheezing.
Business leaders have warned air pollution could severely hit the tourism industry, although two major travel firms have not seen an adverse impact yet.
"The pollution has generated a lot of negative publicity for the destination globally. However, there have been no cancellations in bookings," said Dipak Deva, managing director of inbound tourism at Thomas Cook group.
Meanwhile, Karan Anand, head of relationships at Cox & Kings said: "We are not seeing any cancellations from tourists at this point. Guests are arriving as per schedule and as they move out of Delhi immediately there is no cause for concern."
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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