Arab countries start to suspend flights to China due to coronavirus outbreak

Dubai — Arab airlines are starting to halt flights to China, joining their global peers, due to the outbreak of the coronavirus that has killed over 300 people and marked the worst start to the year for oil markets since 1991.

National flag carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines temporally suspended all flights to China as of Sunday, February 2, it said on twitter.

Qatar Airways will halt flights to China starting Monday, February 3 "due to significant operational challenges caused by entry restrictions imposed by several countries," it said Saturday in a statement.

Oman's Public Authority for Civil Aviation has banned all civil flights between China and the sultanate starting Sunday, until further notice, it said on its twitter account. National flag carrier Egypt Air started to suspend flights on Saturday.

The first detected cases in the Middle East are in the UAE, where four members of one Chinese family have been infected and a fifth was disclosed. However, local UAE airlines have yet to suspend or reduce flights from China.

Oil demand

The epidemic is expected to dent crude demand, prompting the 23-member OPEC/non OPEC coalition, collectively known as OPEC+, to mull holding a technical meeting in Vienna possibly in the next few days to discuss its impact on oil markets. The first fatality from the contagious virus outside China was recorded in the Philippines over the weekend.

The global spread of the virus, which has infected individuals in at least 23 countries, has roiled oil and stock markets amid investor jitters about the impact of the virus on China, the world's second largest economy and second largest oil consumer.

Brent prices lost 12% in January to end at $56.62/b, while West Texas Intermediate plunged 16% to $51.56/b, making it the worst start to a year since 1991.

The outbreak is expected to blunt global oil demand by at least 900,000 b/d in February and 650,000 b/d in March, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics. In a worst case scenario involving travel curtailments, demand could drop by up 2.6 million b/d in February and 2 million b/d in March.