Cathay Pacific parks half fleet as coronavirus epidemic hammers aviation

Cathay Pacific Group has 120 planes sitting on the tarmac at any given time, accounting for about half of its fleet, and has scrapped more than three-quarters of its weekly flights in March. Sources said the number of planes left on the ground was likely to rise as Cathay warned of further cuts in flight schedules. “We are continuously assessing our fleet and aircraft deployment in order to best align capacity with market demand,” a spokeswoman for the airline said. The airline’s flying schedules for March show a decline of around 75%. Originally, around 1,470 flights per week were scheduled in March for Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon. That number has now been cut by more than 1,120.<br/>