COVID-19's Impact On Flight Departures

As more and more countries close their borders in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, airports all over the world are emptying. The scale of the disruption can be clearly seen through statistical data compiled by flight tracking website Flightradar24. In Northern Italy, currently the epicenter of Europe's coronavirus outbreak, 229 flights were tracked departing Milan Malpensa on Tuesday February 28, 2020. On March 17, that figure declined to just eight.

Rome Fiumicino has also seen a reduction in flight departures and during the same period they fell from 320 to 48. The impact is also being felt in other countries with significant outbreaks such as South Korea. On February 28, Incheon International Airport had 406 departing flights and that dropped to 98 yesterday. Likewise, Madrid Barajas also saw its total departures fall from 508 to 264.