COVID-19 Taking a Toll on Airline Industry
The coronavirus outbreak has severely disturbed the lives of people all over the world. After its first traces in China’s Wuhan, the World Health Organization has officially announced COVID-19 to be pandemic. The total number of affected people has risen above 219,000 in countries like the UK, the mainland Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The UK has more than 2,626 confirmed cases and nearly 104 people have died as on March 19, as per data from the Department of Health. Officials have identified fever, headaches, chills, shortness of breaths and the tightness in the chest. As per details from the health department, severe cases of coronavirus can transform into pneumonia, kidney failure and severe acute respiratory syndrome.
In order to control the spread of the disease, officials have advised regular washing of hands with soap and water. In case of unavailability of soap, an alcohol based sanitiser is highly recommended. Despite being the most affected country and the epicentre of coronavirus, China’s attempts to control the virus have started giving positive results.
COVID-19 cases in Italy have led to a nation-wide lock-down with all educational institutions undergoing a complete shutdown. The total number of cases in Italy have already crossed 35,713 as on March 19, 2020.
As all the countries are encouraging restricted travelling, the airline industry has witnessed a major fallout in terms of revenues. Several airlines including Qantas Airways have asked their employees to leave. Pertaining to these circumstances, most airlines are looking forward to get help from the government authorities in case of potential offset bankruptcies.
The American Airlines and United Airlines are low by 44 percent and 55 percent respectively. Based on the predictions of the International Air Transport Association, airlines are in urgent need of $200 billion for surviving the coronavirus pandemic.
The rise in the number of coronavirus cases in European countries, including Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Norway will surely negatively impact the aviation industry even further in near future.
