Norwegian airport operator Avinor is considering closing several airports in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, it told Argus.
"We are seeing a clear decline in air traffic at the beginning of March, and we expect this to continue as long as we have the situation with the coronavirus", said Avinor chief executive Dag Falk-Petersen. Avinor has not yet made a decision on which airports will be affected, nor on when the closures would come into effect, and is assessing the situation on an ongoing basis.
Norway's air traffic dropped by 5pc in the last days of February, after the first case of virus was confirmed in the country on 26 February.
A total of 3.8mn passengers travelled through Avinor's airports in February, down by 0.1pc on the year.
Stricter travel restrictions as a result of the spread of the coronavirus have hit European jet fuel demand, with the latest travel ban to the US from the Schengen common visa area likely to weigh on transatlantic travel demand.
Russian airline Aeroflot will suspended flights between Moscow and several cities in Spain, France, Germany and Italy from tomorrow until 30 April.
Northwest European jet fuel prices have fallen by 17pc in February compared with a year earlier because of the travel restrictions. Further flight suspensions and airport closures are likely to pressure jet fuel prices throughout March, with most travel restrictions lasting until at least beginning of April.
By Florence Schmit
