Interest in private jets surges as coronavirus keeps airlines away from China

A drop in airline flights from China and Hong Kong due to the coronavirus is increasing demand for private jets as wealthy passengers try to get out, executives say, but travel bans and nervous crew have kept that from translating to more business. UK-based consultancy Ascend by Cirium said the number of flights scheduled to operate to, from and within China had dropped by 34% from Jan. 23 through Feb. 11. Those cuts have left stranded passengers to rely on government-led evacuations. For those who can afford it, there are private jet charters carrying smaller groups and promising less risk of exposure to the virus, executives said. Strict quarantine requirements, travel bans on Chinese citizens and concerns for crew safety have left only a limited pool of private jet operators willing to fly to China compared with the situation during the SARS epidemic in 2003, operators said. “This time the operators and countries have put lots of restrictions on the usage of private jets to the countries affected by this virus,” said Logan Ravishkansar, CE of Singapore-based charter operator MyJet Asia. “Business leaders are scared and confused to go in and out of Asia. Flight crews are afraid to fly as well.”<br/>