The COVID-19 crisis has brought international air networks to a grinding halt, according to the global travel and data analytics expert Cirium. As some Asian countries have passed what is hoped as the worst of the crisis, some very limited capacity recovery is currently being seen across Asia and in China.

Speaking on an Airline Economics webinar entitled COVID-19 The Impact on Aviation – the view from Asia on April 17, 2020, Ascend by Cirium’s Chief Economist, Peter Morris said “The global airline industry has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of scheduled seats compared to last year. However, although the number of seats within Europe declined by 94%, and North America by 63%, the volume in Asia is now down by 47%.