London, March 4, 2020 (AltAfrica)-African Airlines have reportedly lost $400m due to suspension and cancellation of flights to and from China since the outbreak of the coronavirus.

This is a devastating and colossal damage to an already struggling economy Most airlines suspended and even cancelled flights to and from China in February when the outbreak became serious.

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Airlines like South African Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Air Tanzania, Air Mauritius, EgyptAir, RwandAir and Kenya Airways announced the suspension of flights last month.

The Vice-President of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Raphael Kuuchi has told the BBC that the impact of the virus could get worse for African airline

Last year the airlines posted losses of $100m and this year’s figure could be higher due to the current outbreak.

Meanwhile Ethiopian Airlines is still operating flights to and from five cities in China.

So far Africa has recorded 12 cases, Egypt (2), Algeria (3) and Nigeria (1) Tunisia (1) Morocco (1) and Senegal (2).

More than 90,000 cases and over 3,000 deaths have been recorded in some 60 countries worldwide. Africa has relatively reported of low outbreak rate.

The virus is a global public health emergency, according to the World Health Organisation.