Airline industry body Iata warns on collapse in passenger numbers

The coronavirus epidemic has forced BA and Ryanair to cancel hundreds of flights, as the airlines industry body warned about the impact of a collapse in passenger numbers. BA announced Monday it would cancel more than 200 flights to countries including Italy, Germany and the USA “to match reduced demand due to the continuing coronavirus issue”. Ryanair said it was cutting short-haul flights to Italy by up to 25%, mostly on routes to northern Italy. The cancellations follow similar moves by Lufthansa and easyJet. Coronavirus has already resulted in “serious declines in demand”, according to the IATA. Bookings have fallen and airlines are responding by giving staff unpaid leave, freezing pay and grounding aircraft, it said. One airline reported that bookings for flights to Italy had dropped to zero while refunds were growing. Another cited a 26% reduction across its entire market compared with last year. Some told Iata that 50% of passengers were not showing up to fly on several routes. Given the “extraordinary circumstances” of the outbreak, Iata on Monday asked regulators to suspend rules that mean carriers lose airport landing and take-off slots if they do not use them for 80% of the time. Widespread cancellations would mean airlines stood to lose their slots or be forced to run empty services to keep their allocations, the body said. Alexandre de Juniac, Iata director-general, said “traffic has collapsed on key Asian routes and . . . this is rippling throughout air transport network globally”. He added: “It’s essential that the regulatory community work with us to ensure airlines are able to operate in the most sustainable manner, both economically and environmentally, to alleviate the worst impacts of the crisis.”<br/>