Coronavirus costs Vietnamese airlines $430 mln in lost revenue

The coronavirus has cost Vietnamese airlines about 10 trillion dong ($430 million) so far in lost revenues following travel curbs between Vietnam and China, the government said on Wednesday. Vietnam declared a public health emergency over the epidemic on Feb. 1 and banned all flights to and from China, where more than 1,000 people have died from the virus.

The ban would affect about 400,000 passengers a month, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said in a statement. The number of passengers on all international flights fell 14.1% during the first week of February from a year earlier, it added. Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Aviation, and Jetstar Pacific Airlines conduct commercial flights on 72 routes between Vietnam and China.

Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. "The flights (to and from China) can only be resumed under the approval from the Prime Minister," CAAV Director Dinh Viet Thang said in the statement.

Vietnam confirmed another case of the new coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing its total to 15, the health ministry said. ($1 = 23,224 dong)

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