SIA, SilkAir cancel more than 700 flights between February and May

More than 700 Singapore Airlines (SIA) and SilkAir flights between Singapore and countries such as Japan, South Korea, Germany and the United States between this month and May have been cancelled due to weak demand amid the coronavirus outbreak.

SIA announced the cancellations yesterday on both its website and in a Facebook post. It said affected customers will be notified and reaccommodated onto other flights.

The earliest flights affected are on Monday, and the latest are on May 31.

Both SIA and SilkAir apologised for the inconvenience.

Passengers with flights booked for this period should check SIA's website or its Facebook page for further details.

SIA said those who booked their tickets through a travel agency should contact the agent for assistance, while those who booked directly with SIA can contact the airline's reservations team on 6223-8888.

Air travel has been disrupted by the outbreak of the disease - now known as Covid-19 - caused by the coronavirus that originated in central China's Wuhan city, although the disruptions were mostly limited to routes between Singapore and China.

SIA, SilkAir and Scoot had already suspended flights to mainland China due to weak demand and the country's decision to lock down several cities.

SIA said it will continue to monitor the situation and make the necessary adjustments as the situation develops.

Mr Brendan Sobie, an independent aviation analyst and founder of Sobie Aviation, told The Straits Times that the number of cuts are relatively small, given how much demand has fallen.

"The situation is that people are not travelling, and it is not just to China or Hong Kong, but everywhere. In Singapore, a lot of corporations are not sending their employees away for business, and a lot of conventions and conferences have been affected," he said.

He pointed out that many of the cuts are not for the near-term, but in May, which is usually an off-peak season for travellers because it is between the Easter and summer holidays.

He added: "These flights would have likely experienced low demand without the crisis, and now the virus is further impacting their performance."

Looking ahead, he expected more non-China flight cuts from other Asian airlines.

"Every airline reacts differently to these situations... but we can expect other airlines to cut flights in the next few days," he said.