The world’s airlines face potential revenue losses between 4 billion and 5 billion dollars in the first quarter as the coronavirus outbreak has led to widespread flight cancellations, according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The Montreal, Canada based UN body based its forecast on reports that around 70 carriers have stopped all international flight connections with China, while a further 50 have scaled down their China operations.
This has resulted in an 80 per cent drop of foreign airline capacity and a 40 per cent cut by Chinese airlines.
The ICAO also forecast that first-quarter tourism revenues could drop by 1.29 billion dollars in Japan and by 1.15 billion dollars in Thailand as Chinese air travellers stay home. dpa/NAN
