Asian airlines could lose $27.8bln on coronavirus - IATA

Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region stand to lose $27.8 billion of revenue this year as they slash flights due to declining demand as a result of the coronavirus, according to a preliminary estimate from an industry body.

Ciara Lee reports

China's coronavirus outbreak is keeping domestic travelers at home, and international travelers away.

And that means empty airports.

Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region stand to lose $27.8 billion of revenue this year as a result.

The bulk of the losses will be for Chinese carriers, including an estimated $12.8 billion hit to the Chinese domestic market alone Chinese airlines have cut 80% of their planned capacity to, from and within China this week Asian carriers Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines have cut capacity across their global networks as they look to manage the crisis.

Overall the International Air Traffic Association expects passenger traffic in the Asia-Pacific region to fall by 8.2% this year.

It had been expected to rise by nearly 5 percent.

Carriers outside Asia are expected to lose $1.5 billion of revenue.

Air France-KLM warned this week of up to a $216 million hit to earnings by April as it contends with what it calls the epidemic's "brutal" impact.