Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air and Finnish carrier Finnair will cut capacity on European short-haul routes to minimize the financial impact of the coronavirus spread.
Wizz Air is cponsidering cutting capacity by around 10pc during the first quarter of its 2021 financial year which runs from April to June 2020, as a result of lower air travel demand within Europe. The carrier recently cut its capacity to and from northern Italy by around 60pc because of concerns about the spread of coronavirus and its impact on travel demand to the region.
Wizz Air said it the exact financial affect will depend on the extent and duration of the coronavirus. In February, the firm carried more than 3mn passengers, up by 25pc on the year. Given the current capacity reduction and flight cancellations, its March traffic statistics are likely to be much lower than it anticipated and might experience the full blow of its capacity reduction for the fourth quarter that ends on 31 March.
The company will provide pre-close year and trading statement ahead of its the company's full year F20 close period that starts on 1 April 2020.
Finnair is cancelling flights between Helsinki and Milan from 9 March until 7 April, following an updated travel advisory from the Finnish government. It is also adjusting its flight patterns to Asia-Pacific until the end of July, cancelling all flights to China and to Seoul until 30 April and 16 April respectively and, reducing capacity to Hong Kong and Japan.
