Singapore Airlines' (SIA) regional wing, SilkAir, will suspend flights to Japan's Hiroshima on the back of weak demand, which has been made worse by the coronavirus outbreak.

SilkAir said yesterday that the last flight for MI867 will be from Hiroshima to Singapore on March 26.

The flights will be suspended indefinitely.

It said that it will contact all affected customers and arrange to accommodate them on other flights.

Those who need more help can contact SIA's Japan reservations office on +81-3-3213-3431 or the 24-hour reservations call centre in Singapore on 6223-8888.

SilkAir started flying the Singapore-Hiroshima route in October 2017.

It had said then that the Japanese city was popular with Singaporeans because of its historical significance, good weather and proximity to various attractions in neighbouring cities.

The move is the latest one by the Singapore Airlines Group - made up of national carrier SIA, SilkAir and budget arm Scoot - to cut costs as it adjusts to plummeting demand due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The group has suspended more than 3,000 flights from last month to end-May, accounting for 9.9 per cent of its scheduled capacity.

Singapore Airlines Group said yesterday that it regularly reviews its flight network and will remain nimble in adjusting capacity to demand.

It said that the group remains committed to the Japanese market and that it currently still flies to six destinations in Japan - Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo-Haneda and Tokyo-Narita.