Coronavirus: Aviation Industry Faces Over $100bn Loss

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has projected a revenue loss of more than $100bn as a result of the Coronavirus epidemic.

The body which represents global airlines has been counting the cost during a meeting in Singapore.

IATA in a statement said that the impact of the coronavirus had been revised upwards from $29.3bn in February 2020.

The international body said this was due to the fast spreading of the disease from China to over 80 countries now, and the forward bookings had been severely impacted on routes beyond China.

IATA said that financial markets had reacted strongly to the coronavirus impact, and the airline stocks had fallen nearly 25 per cent since the outbreak began, which are almost 21 percentage points higher than the decline that occurred at a similar point during the SARS crisis of 2003.

In India too, the airline stocks has crashed over the past one month. Take IndiGo, for instance, which controls 47.9 per cent of the domestic aviation market.

Its stock price has tumbled 16.4 per cent in a month to close at Rs 1,211.85 apiece on March 5. Its archrival SpiceJet’s stock price has plummeted over 25 per cent to Rs 69.4 apiece on March 5.