Virus-stricken airlines face bailout or bust

Airlines worldwide face an unprecedented existential threat as the coronavirus shuts down global travel, leaving governments with controversial and costly decisions about which carriers to bail out.

A toxic mix of fear, crippling travel bans and investor panic have pummelled the sector, with demand collapsing and carriers cutting flight capacity by up to 90 percent. One troubled airline, Britain's Flybe, has already gone to the wall and market analysts believe many more could follow.

"By the end of May 2020, most airlines in the world will be bankrupt," market intelligence firm CAPA has warned.

Even before US President Donald Trump effectively barred trans-Atlantic travel, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated the crisis would cost the industry $113 billion, or nearly 20 percent of its revenue this year.

The true figure now looks like being much higher. Brendan Sobie, an independent aviation analyst based in Singapore, said the global situation was "unprecedented".

"You can compare it to things like SARS or the global financial crisis, but I think it goes beyond that. No one really knows how long it will last and what the full impact will be."