Mideast airlines lose $7B as airports shut to combat virus

Mideast airlines lose $7B as airports shut to combat virus:

Seven Middle Eastern countries have suspended all commercial flights due to the fast-spreading new coronavirus, as the aviation industry’s largest trade association announced Thursday that airlines in the region have already lost more than $7 billion in revenue.

Those losses translate into potentially hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs in the airline industry in the Middle East alone, the International Air Transport Association said.

IATA called for emergency aid of up to $200 billion for airlines globally.

The Middle East has some 20,000 cases of the virus, with most cases in Iran or linked to travel from Iran.