Mideast airlines lose $7b as airports shut to combat virus

Seven Middle Eastern countries have suspended all commercial flights due to a fast-spreading new virus as the aviation industry’s largest trade association announces that airlines in the region have already lost more than $7 billion in revenue.

The International Air Transport Association, which represents around 290 airlines worldwide, says the travel restrictions that countries have imposed to slow down the spread of the virus “have more far-reaching implications than anything we have seen before.”

The group calls for emergency aid of up to $200 billion for airlines globally.

In the Middle East alone, 16,000 passenger flights have been canceled since the end of January. The financial losses translate into hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk, IATA says.

The Middle East has some 20,000 cases of the virus, with most cases in Iran or linked to travel from Iran. The virus killed another 149 people in the past 24 hours in Iran, pushing the death toll there to 1,284 amid over 18,000 confirmed cases.

Already, major carriers like Emirates have urged pilots and cabin crew to take unpaid leave. Reports have emerged that Qatar Airways laid off several hundred employees. The airline did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Job losses in the Middle East have especially far-reaching consequences to the millions of foreign workers who send remittances back home to families in India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Eastern European countries. Gulf states like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates rely heavily on foreigners to work as airport support staff, pilots, cleaners and cabin crew.

— AP