Qantas Group forecasts up to £75m coronavirus hit

Demand in Asia has been hit after the virus spread across much of China, with cases reported in several neighbouring countries, resulting temporary flight reductions in the region.

Qantas will cut 16% of its Asia capacity through to the end of May following the suspension of its Sydney-Shanghai route, its sole mainland China route.

Its Sydney-Hong Kong service will be halved from 14 flights a week to seven, while its Brisbane-Hong Kong and Melbourne-Hong Kong services will be reduced from seven weekly flights to four and five respectively.

Melbourne-Singapore flights, meanwhile, will be operated by Boeing 787 aircraft instead of larger Airbus A380s, reducing capacity onboard each flight by around 250 seats.

Qantas’s low-cost subsidiary JetStar will cut Asia capacity by 14% until the end of May, affecting its Australia-Japan and Australia-Thailand flights, and intra-Asia flights.

The rest of its international network, including flights to the UK and US, will continue as normal.

The group will also reduce domestic capacity by 2.3% during the second half of the year “to better match demand”.