Global Airlines Face the Worst Demand Decline on Record

Globalization has been a boon for the ­airline industry, which has flourished as nations opened up to one another over the past 40 years. Now ­businesspeople and tourists can crisscross borders as easily as they travel close to home. Unfortunately, as the cascade of infections around the globe can attest, so can the coronavirus.

That frictionless movement has expanded the reach of the crisis to an unprecedented level. The lethal outbreak had been a multi­billion-dollar headache largely for airlines in China and the rest of Asia until late February. Since then, the fear of flying has followed the virus westward, striking some of the biggest U.S. and European carriers. From Qantas and Cathay Pacific in Asia, to Lufthansa and Air France-KLM in Europe, to United and American in the U.S., airlines all share the common problem of virus-sapped bookings.