Coronavirus: Spike in China flight searches suggests ebbing fear

In a photo taken on Jan 23, 2020, passengers wearing masks are seen at the terminal hall of the Beijing Capital International Airport. PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) - Travel agency Tongcheng-Elong Holdings said there's a growing belief that the coronavirus outbreak is being better contained in China because the number of searches for flights on its online platform is soaring.

Searches for bookings during the April 4-6 Tomb Sweeping Holiday, or Qing Ming Festival, jumped 138 per cent on Sunday (Feb 23) from a week earlier, while those for flights in the Labour Day break from May 1 to 5 increased 84 per cent, the Hong Kong-listed company said in a statement on Friday.

The figures support a growing flicker of optimism about the deadly outbreak, which originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and led to thousands of flight cancellations and citywide lockdowns.

The virus has pummelled the aviation and travel industries, among many others, and threatens economic growth right at the start of a new decade. But there are signs it is easing.

Scheduled airline capacity within China rose by 1.3 million seats from the previous week, or more than 25 per cent, according to OAG Aviation Worldwide.

The flight-data provider previously noted that the reduction in flights by Chinese airlines since late January was so drastic that the country's aviation market shrank to smaller than Portugal's.

International flights restored

Meanwhile, China's three biggest airlines have restored a fraction of the international flights they halted in the wake of the outbreak, heeding a call from the aviation regulator as business activity recovers.

Air China resumed flying on Friday to the German commercial hub of Frankfurt from the southwestern city of Chengdu, following a 21-day suspension over the epidemic, state-run Xinhua news agency said.

China Southern Airlines had recommenced flights on Tuesday to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi from the southern city of Guangzhou as demand revived on recovering trade with the African country.

Data from industry intelligence firm CAPA showed the numbers of airline services from China to Cambodia, France, Germany, the Philippines and Thailand, were up this week from the last.

China's aviation industry is one of the worst-affected by the epidemic, following travel curbs by nations fearing contagion and cancellations by airlines on shrivelling demand.

Almost 2,800 people have died in the outbreak in mainland China, where the tally of infections stands at more than 78,800.

The number of new infections has appeared to be slowing in China in recent days, but cases continue to spread farther afield, with Nigeria confirming the first reported infection in sub-Saharan Africa on Thursday. The number of cases in South Korea has crossed 2,000, while infections have cropped up in countries from New Zealand to Lithuania.

Chinese epidemiologist and leading government medical adviser Zhong Nanshan said on Thursday that the epidemic could be under control in China by the end of April.

Local governments around the country are loosening criteria for factories to resume operating as authorities try to get people back to work, while companies are reopening stores, including Starbucks Corp., whose Chief Executive Officer Kevin Johnson said there are early signs of a recovery in the region.

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