Cathay Pacific will end New York-Vancouver flight early in coronavirus capacity cuts

Cathay Pacific released an advisory Thursday, saying that it is cutting 90% of its capacity to mainland China and about 30% of flights across its global network as it faces a steep drop in demand due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

As part of those cuts, the airline moved forward the date of its final fifth-freedom flight between New York (JFK) and Vancouver (YVR). The final flight YVR-JFK appears on Cathay's website for sale on Feb. 17, and JFK-YVR on Feb. 18. The airline confirmed that the route will be "de-tagged" as of Feb. 19.

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The route, which Cathay has flown since 1996, was previously slated to run through late March. Thursday's statement tells passengers whose bookings on the route are affected that they can request a refund for any portion of the itinerary they have not yet flown.

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A spokeswoman for the airline said that exact plans for other routes are still fluid, but many routes in North America will be reduced or suspended beginning later this month through late March.

The current plan calls for reduced service from Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX), and suspension of flights from Newark (EWR) and Washington-Dulles (IAD).