Cruise operator Royal Caribbean cancels three trips on coronavirus outbreak

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said on Wednesday it had canceled three trips scheduled in February, after consultation with health authorities over the spread of coronavirus that has killed more than 100 people and infected thousands in China. The cancellations would hit the U.S. cruise operator's 2020 earnings by about 10 cents per share, the company said. It would further impact the results by an additional 10 cents if the travel restrictions in China continued until the end of February.

The United States and Japan evacuated their nationals from the quarantined city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, while British Airways suspended flights to mainland China as deaths from the virus leapt to 133 and a government economist predicted a huge hit to the economy. "There are still too many variables and uncertainties regarding this outbreak to calculate the overall impact on the business," the company said.