The International Air Transport Authority has warned that global airlines could lose almost $30bn in revenue due to a rapid decrease in travel demand, caused by the coronavirus epidemic.
IATA gave the warning in its latest airline industry forecast.
“If it spreads more widely to Asia-Pacific markets, then impacts on airlines from other regions would be larger,” the organisation said.
According to IATA, the outbreak will also likely reduce global traffic by almost five per cent, marking the first overall decline in demand since the global financial crisis of 2008-09.
“Airlines are making difficult decisions to cut capacity and in some cases routes,” the IATA Director General, Alexandre de Juniac, said.
