The fast-spreading coronavirus could spell the end for the weakest airlines as travel demand dries up in and out of China.

The outbreak, which originated in the Chinese city Wuhan, has claimed 170 lives. Total infections have soared past 7,700 in China, surpassing the country’s official number from the 2003 SARS epidemic.

SARS cost the global economy an estimated $40 billion in just six months and led to a 45per cent plunge in traffic for Asia-Pacific carriers in April that year.

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The novel coronavirus hasn’t killed anyone outside China, but infections are spreading faster than SARS and that’s triggering a raft of flight cancellations to and from one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for air travel.

For Asia-Pacific carriers, already buffeted by U.S.-China trade tensions and protests in Hong Kong, the new virus is potentially an existential threat, Qantas Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said.

“A lot of airlines may not be able to keep some of these operations going,” Joyce said in an interview. “It’s survival of the fittest.”

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