How coronavirus grounded the airline industry

How coronavirus grounded the airline industry

Tens of thousands of flights have been canceled since the outbreak spread beyond China in January.. The few planes in the skies now are devoid of passengers, and pilots and crew members are out of work.. Editor focusing on extreme weather, climate change, science and the environment.. Graphics editor specializing in data analysis and visualization. In December, Wuhan, one of China's largest industrial hubs, reported its first cases of covid-19.. As the outbreak started to spread, countries across East Asia, including Japan, Malaysia and Thailand, restricted flights to China and South Korea to prevent further transmission.. In March, air traffic waned throughout the Middle East.. Egypt, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia closed their major airports.. Turkey banned air travel from most European countries.. Flights over Europe nearly evaporated as covid-19 swept through northern Italy, forcing EasyJet, Ryanair and Lufthansa to cut flights by at least 80 percent.. On March 13, President Trump announced sweeping restrictions on travel from more than two dozen European countries.. On March 20, a more minor disruption occurred: Airspace east of Indianapolis was closed after an air traffic controller's positive coronavirus test shut down the workspace for disinfecting and quarantine.. The aviation industry's