Global airlines slash almost all flights as virus spreads wings

Major world airlines on Monday axed almost all flights on a temporary basis as the worsening coronavirus crisis sparks travel bans, ravages demand and sends shares into freefall, triggering pleas to help carriers survive.

IAG, owner of British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia, announced it would slash flight capacity by 75 per cent during April and May owing to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The London-based carrier's share price crashed nearly 27 per cent in mid-afternoon deals.

Other airlines tumbled, with Germany's Lufthansa erasing almost 11 per cent in value and Air France wiping out 17 per cent on similar announcements. Britain's Virgin Atlantic added that it has decided to park 75 per cent of its total fleet -- and in April this will rise as high as 85 per cent.

Virgin has reportedly called upon the UK government to inject emergency support totalling 7.5 billion pounds (USD 9.2 billion) to help keep Britain's aviation industry flying.

In Germany, Lufthansa has been forced to scrap around two thirds of its flights in coming weeks as several countries including the United States ban travellers from Europe.

"Last week saw a rapid acceleration of the impact of COVID-19 on global aviation and tourism," Virgin Atlantic warned in a statement.

"The situation is deteriorating at pace and the airline has seen several days of negative bookings, driven by a huge volume of cancellations as customers choose to stay at home."
EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren added: "European aviation faces a precarious future and it is clear that coordinated government backing will be required to ensure the industry survives and is able to continue to operate when the crisis is over."