SYDNEY – Airlines operating from the Asia-Pacific region may stand a loss of $27.8 billion in revenue this year owing to the decline in demand because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Chinese carriers carry a majority of these losses. A $12.8 billion hit is seen by the Chinese domestic market alone.
Airlines in China have cut 80% of their planned capacity to deal with the fall in demand due to the virus which has claimed over 2,100 peoples lives in China.
Asian carriers like Cathay Pacific Airways and Singapore Airlines cut capacity to manage the crisis.
In toto, IATA foresees Asia-Pacific passenger traffic to drop by 8.2% this year as compared to the earlier estimated rise of 4.8%.
This is sure to be a tough year for airlines.
Outside Asia, carriers are expected to lose $1.5 billion of revenue adding it was too early to quantify the impact on earnings.
Air France KLM SA warned of a 150- 200 million euro hit to earnings by April as it contends with the coronavirus epidemic’s “brutal” impact on the airline industry.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.