The Lufthansa Group today confirmed that it will be reducing capacity on routes to Hong Kong, Italy and Seoul. Additionally, it will be suspending all services to China and Tehran until 24 April and 30 April respectively.

Today, Lufthansa Group became the latest airline to suspend flights amidst the spreading coronavirus epidemic. In a press release circulated this morning, the airline outlined a selection of service reductions and suspensions in response to growing fears about coronavirus.

Which services is Lufthansa suspending?

The most drastic measure announced by Lufthansa this morning was the outright suspension of all flights to China and Tehran. As the center of the outbreak, flights to China have been severely restricted by a number of airlines and countries for a while now. Iran, on the other hand, has one of the highest numbers of confirmed cases outside of China.

Lufthansa says it will be suspending all flights to China until 24 April, whilst it will be suspending all flights to Tehran, Iran’s capital, until 30 April. Specifically, this will affect Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines services flying from Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Additionally, the airline will be suspending flights between Munich and Hong Kong between 6 March and 24 April. Passengers looking to fly between southern Germany and Hong Kong will be re-booked on flights from Frankfurt and Zurich where possible.

Alongside these outright suspensions, the airline has confirmed it will be reducing services on a number of other routes to and from Italy, the center of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe. Lufthansa will be reducing services to Milan, Venice, Rome, Turin, Verona, Bologna, Ancona and Pisa, whilst SWISS will be reducing flights to and from Florence, Milan, Rome and Venice.

Meanwhile, Austrian Airlines says it will reduce flights to and from Italy by 40 percent over the next two months, and Brussels Airlines will reduce its Italy capacity by 30 percent until 14 March. Domestic flights between a number of German cities will also be reduced.

Reactive or proactive measures?

While many flight cancellations to and from China have been implemented as a measure to stop the spread of the disease, the reduction of services to Italy among the Lufthansa Group brands appears to mainly be a reaction to reduced demand.

In today’s press release, the airline says it is “adapting its offer to the changed demand.” This reduction in demand is something that is currently affecting airlines across the world, as passengers become more wary of taking all but the most high-priority flights.

Lufthansa Group says it is too early to release any clear estimates concerning the financial impact of the current wave of flight cancellations. However, it says that the number of long-haul aircraft in its fleet which are now not in operation has risen from 13 to 23.

No matter what the eventual figures amount to, it’s clear that the coronavirus outbreak will have a significant impact on airline profits this year. Reducing services in response to reduced demand appears to be one of the only ways airlines can mitigate losses at the moment.