Originally Posted by
Blue Skies
Interesting question.
At the time of the SAARS outbreak, Statistics NZ figures showed visitor numbers from Asia fell by 26.8% & from the US & by 9.7% compared to the same month previous year. AIR had to reduce capacity on Asian routes for 6 months as load factors dropped by 5.7%.
The Ebola outbreaks occurred mostly in Democratic Republic of Congo & West African countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea & Nigeria none of which we have direct flights to or significant travel between.
With around 30 flights a week between NZ & China and over 400,000 international arrivals a year from China, am sure the govt & airline & tourism industry keeping a very close watch on this latest epidemic.
However, to keep some perspective, 17 deaths out of a population of 11.8 million in Wuhan so far.
I've always thought contagion & resulting panic is one of the biggest risks to airline industry & it's not if but a question of when.
Apart from the travellers, how would the company deal with a situation where pilots and cabin crew refused to expose themselves to the risk by flying to a destination. I don't believe the airline could impose that on anyone.