Airline and travel sectors brace for pandemic threat

The global airline and travel sectors battened down the hatches yesterday for a possible swine flu pandemic which could deal another blow to two industries already reeling from the economic crisis.

As images of people wearing face masks in public resurrected grim memories of the Sars health scare in 2003, analysts appealed for calm, saying it was too early to speculate on the impact of the new threat.

"It's another kick in the teeth for travel and tourism. We could really do without this," Dale Lawrence, communications director for the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), said.

But Mr Lawrence and other industry figures stressed that while travellers should heed health advisories, they should not succumb to panic.

"We would just urge the entire industry and the travelling public to keep this issue in perspective. This is not a pandemic yet," he said. International Air Transport Association chief Giovanni Bisignani warned that the swine flu threat could have a "significant" impact on traffic.

"It is still too early to judge what the impact of swine flu will have on the bottom line. But it is sure that anything that shakes the confidence of passengers has a negative impact on the business," he said.

"And the timing could not be worse given all of the other economic problems airlines are facing."

IATA said global passenger numbers fell 11.1 per cent in March from a year ago as airlines continued to bleed from the economic slump.

IATA has forecast that global airlines will lose $4.7 billion this year as a result of the economic crisis alone.