Qantas, Australia's largest airline, says it will cut its international passenger capacity by 90 percent until the end of May due to falls in travel demand due to the new coronavirus and travel restrictions across multiple borders.
Qantas said in a statement Tuesday that domestic capacity will be cut by 60 percent until at least the end of May.
This represents the grounding of around 150 aircraft, including almost all of Qantas' wide-body fleet.
The airline group which includes Jetstar, said the "precipitous decline in demand" would be unlikely to rebound for weeks or possibly months and the impact would be felt across its entire workforce of 30,000 people, ABC News reports.
"The Qantas Group is working to manage this impact as much as possible, including through the use of paid and unpaid leave," the company said in a statement.
The company has introduced a booking waiver for customers who wish to suspend or change their travel plans.
It also said customers with existing bookings on any domestic or international flight until May 31 who no longer want to travel can cancel their flights and get a credit voucher.
The cuts will be phased in from the end of this month and details of the affected routes will be announced in coming days.-AP. Photo: AAP
