Three bodies representing airline unions in Japan called Monday for a suspension of flights to countries and regions affected by the deadly epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome.
The petition was filed with the Scheduled Airlines Association of Japan, a body that groups the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry and Japanese airlines.
The union side -- the Airline Pilots' Association of Japan, the Japan Federation of Aviation Workers' Unions and the Japan Federation of Civil Aviation Worker's Union for Air Safety -- said it wants flights suspended to and from areas where the World Health Organization has issued travel warnings due to outbreaks of SARS