Emirates airline to halt all passenger flights over virus

Long-haul carrier Emirates says it will suspend all passenger flights beginning Wednesday over the new coronavirus outbreak

The decision is a major one for the Dubai-based, government-owned airline built on linking the East to the West

A statement from the carrier quoted Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, its chairman, and CEO, as saying: "The world has literally gone into quarantine due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This is an unprecedented crisis situation in terms of breadth and scale: geographically, as well as from a health, social, and economic standpoint." He added: "We find ourselves in a situation where we cannot viably operate passenger services until countries re-open their borders, and travel confidence returns.