The rapid growth in the number of cases of the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, has quickly cratered air traffic as people cancel their holidays, postpone business travel, and avoid close contact with others to limit its spread. Airlines around the world are now facing severe financial pressures and are responding by cutting flights, laying off workers, and begging governments for financial assistance.

In the United Kingdom, IAG, which owns British Airways, has announced its flight capacity will be cut by 75 percent and Virgin Atlantic will cut 80 percent of its flights — with staff asked to take eight weeks of unpaid leave. Ryanair, EasyJet, and Norwegian are also cutting most of their flights and their workers face layoffs, pay cuts, and potentially even job losses. Similar announcements are being made by airlines throughout Europe, North America, and Australia and New Zealand as the Centre for Aviation estimates most airlines could be bankrupt by May without government assistance.

Airline share prices are falling dramatically: British Airways down almost by half, Lufthansa down 41 percent, and Air-France/KLM down 56 percent. Even before the coronavirus, the airline industry was in a fragile position — with smaller airlines like Flybe and Wow Air hitting the wall and larger airlines often hopelessly over-leveraged. This crisis calls for a radical reassessment of the sector as a whole, and a means for governments to plan a way forward.