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Bankrupt British Airline is Latest Victim of Coronavirus

Henry Ridgwell

   LONDON - Britain's biggest domestic airline is the latest casualty of
   the coronavirus outbreak. Flybe was rescued from near collapse in
   January but finally went bankrupt Thursday, hit by low demand and
   customer cancellations in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. Britain
   had reported close to 100 infections as of Thursday.
   Flybe served mainly British and European regional airports rather than
   major hubs. Its collapse is being seen as a setback for government
   efforts to improve connectivity and re-balance the British economy away
   from London.

   "We feel really sad, just really sad," Flybe crew member Katherine
   Denscham said as she prepared to leave her workplace at Exeter airport
   in Britain's southwest.
   The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned Thursday that
   the entire global airline industry is suffering amid a huge downturn in
   bookings.
   "We could see the effect on revenues exceed $100 billion, around about
   19 percent of global passenger revenue. So this would be a revenue
   shock equivalent to what was seen in the global financial crisis," IATA
   Chief Economist Brian Pearce told a press conference in Singapore.
   Cases of Covid-19 in Britain have risen sharply in recent days. The
   government said Thursday the focus is moving from containment to
   delaying its peak impact. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters
   that planning is underway for the worst-case scenario: a breakdown in
   law and order.

   "There are long established plans by which the police will... obviously
   keep the public safe, but they will prioritize those things that they
   have to do. And the army is, of course, always ready to backfill as and
   when. But that is under the reasonable worst-case scenario," Johnson
   said this week.

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