American Airlines pilots union sues to stop carrier's U.S.-China service

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The Allied Pilots Association has sued American Airlines to stop the company from flying its U.S.-China routes, amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.

"The safety and well-being of our crews and passengers must always be our highest priority — first, last, and always," APA President Capt. Eric Ferguson said in a statement. "Numerous other major carriers that serve China, including British Airways, Air Canada, and Lufthansa, have chosen to suspend service to that country out of an abundance of caution."

The union, which represents 15,000 American Airlines pilots, is asking for a temporary and immediate restraining order halting the flights, CNN reports, citing "serious, and in many ways still unknown, health threats posed by the coronavirus." This new coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, China, and the death toll has risen to more than 200. On Thursday, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global emergency.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.