No more hot meals, blankets & newspapers on flights due to coronavirus

“The seat pocket will contain only the paper bag and the aircraft safety manual”

Passengers on some flights to China should get used to traveling in flights where hot meals, blankets and newspapers will not be provided, as airlines tighten measures to protect the crew and passengers from the coronavirus, which has so far cost life to more than 130 people in the country.

In an effort to curb the spread of the new virus by reducing human contact, Taiwan’s airline China Airlines said it was encouraging passengers to take their own bottles of beverages onboard and to limit their reusable items with disposable ones.

China Airlines and its local subsidiary, Mandarin Airlines, stopped serving hot meals on Monday and replaced tablecloths and napkins with paper ones on their flights to China and Hong Kong. They have also stopped providing passengers with blankets, pillows, towels, magazines and newspapers, while soft drinks and disposable headphones are only provided on request.

“The seat pocket will contain only the paper bag and the aircraft safety manual”, Tigerair Taiwan stated, an airline that also belongs to China Airlines Group, adding that duty-free products will also not be available.