Qantas to ground nearly entire widebody fleet, cut capacity further

Qantas Group will ground 150 aircraft — including “almost all” of its widebody fleet — amid deeper capacity cuts across both its international and domestic networks. From the end of March, the airline group will cut its international capacity by about 90% — more than tripling an earlier reduction of 23% capacity it announced a week ago. Qantas Group says the decision “largely reflects the demand impact of severe quarantine requirements on people’s ability to travel overseas”. In recent days, countries around the world have imposed a series of restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus — including locking down cities, imposing mandatory quarantines, as well as imposing travel bans. The group will also slash capacity for its domestic network by 60%, up from the earlier announced reduction of 5%. <br/>