Half of world’s airline capacity grounded by virus, OAG says

The global airline industry is operating with less than half the capacity it had in mid-January after slashing another 20m seats from scheduled services last week, according to OAG Aviation Worldwide. The single biggest weekly percentage drop ever recorded by OAG on a global level came as the US and India accelerated their cuts by 4.4m seats and 3.5m seats, respectively, equating to 21% and 70% reductions in capacity. Carriers worldwide are grounding jets as demand slumps because of the coronavirus, which has infected over 785,000 people globally and killed 37,600. “It took the airline industry some eight weeks for global capacity to fall from 106m to 90m,” OAG senior analyst John Grant wrote in a weekly blog. “It took a further two weeks for that to fall to 49m.” The number could drop closer to 40m given deeper cuts coming in major markets, though that level could mark a turning point where signs of recovery might emerge, Grant said.<br/>