President Donald Trump has just announced a temporary ban on flights to and from Europe for the next 30 days due to the spread of COVID-19. This ban will not include flights destined for the United Kingdom. This outbreak, which has been recently upgraded to a pandemic by the World Health Organization, has quickly spread across the world, having a severe impact on travel. Europe has been severely hit with the virus, with Italy having the most cases at 10149 and 671 deaths. France has had 1784 cases and 33 deaths. Many airlines have, in recent days, shrunk their flight schedule to fit the greatly reduced demand for air travel.
Coronavirus first had a major impact on Chinese travel as China was the nation of origin for the disease. Nearly every international flight to and from the country has been suspended, worsening the already dire situation for some Chinese carriers, such as Hainan Airlines. Some cities, such as Wuhan, have been completely quarantined in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As the virus spread, other airlines have canceled routes to neighboring countries that have also been affected.
In recent days, we have seen the magnitude of the impact of this epidemic. Last week, Flybe declared bankruptcy after drastically reduced demand. Korean Air has been struggling due to South Korea's proximity to China. Nearly 80% of its international capacity has been cut in recent weeks due to this outbreak. US carriers have recently cut back on flights. Many other carriers have been operating empty flights to try and keep slots at heavily regulated airports. Earlier this week, due to Coronavirus spreading across the United States, Cabo Verde Airlines announced a suspension of their Sal-Washington Dulles route. Airlines have been harshly hit due to the virus, and this could severely cripple the airlines for the 2020s.
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