Coronavirus: airlines react to virus outbreak in Europe

EasyJet, International Airlines Group (IAG), Wizz Air and Jet2 announced on Friday, February 28, measures to curb the negative impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe, including flight cancellations, pay freezes and flight restrictions for certain customers in the case of Jet2.
EasyJet, IAG and Wizz Air declared a sizable cancellation of flights on their Italian routes in March amid the widespread of COVID-19 cases in the country. EasyJet plans to cancel 500 flights operating in and out of Italy for the latter half of March, which would mean one in every 10 flights scheduled for Italy, as first reported by The Guardian. The company will also impose pay freezes, unpaid leave and will stop all non-mandatory training to staff in an attempt to cope with the financial losses due to the downfall of stocks since the outbreak of the virus.
IAG, owner of airlines such as British Airways and Iberia, will also attempt to balance accounts by significantly cutting flights on its Italian route and shifting some flight operations to smaller aircrafts in the country. Similarly, Wizz Air will reduce its flight itinerary to and from Italy as well between March 11 and April 2. Italy has reported the highest number of COVID-19 infections in Europe with over 1,100 confirmed cases and 29 victims so far.
The airline measures come amid a sizable downfall in stocks worldwide as a side effect of the coronavirus outbreak. Airlines have been hit especially hard after a recent decrease in flight demands in some parts of Europe. The stocks of easyJet, IAG and Wizz Air, all fell by 0.86%, 8.42% and 2.26% respectively by Sunday afternoon continuing a trend of an overall stocks devaluation of all three companies over the past week.
“We have seen a significant softening of demand and load factors into and out of our northern Italian bases,” easyJet said. “Further, we are also seeing some slower demand across our other European markets. As a result, we will be making decisions to cancel some flights, particularly those into and out of Italy.”
The airlines are expected to offer a full refund and free rebooking to all customers affected.
Jet2 requires COVID-19 testing from customers in Tenerife
Jet2 informed the guests quarantined at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in Tenerife, Spain that they will not be allowed to fly back home with the company prior to March 10 unless they have tested negative for COVID-19. Thousand guests and employees at the hotel had to be quarantined after four Italian guests tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. This was the first confirmed case of COVID-19 on Spanish mainland.
On Thursday, the Canary Islands Minister of Health said a group of 130 low-risks guests, among which 15 are Belgians, would be allowed to leave the hotel since they had arrived on Monday and were not in direct contact with the guests who tested positive. Yet, Jet2 reinforced its cautionary measure to fly only guests who tested negative.
“We will not fly any customer who has stayed at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace during the quarantine, until this incubation period has passed or unless they have been explicitly tested for COVID-19 by a recognized authority and are confirmed as clear of the virus,” said a Jet2 spokesperson. “We will continue to release more information as it becomes available.”