SINGAPORE (AFP): Asia's biggest air show opened in Singapore Tuesday (Feb 11) under the shadow of a deadly coronavirus outbreak that has forced dozens of companies to withdraw and is threatening to hammer the aviation industry.
The biennial Singapore Airshow attracts hundreds of global aerospace firms and airlines to the financial hub, where they negotiate multi-million-dollar deals and watch spectacular aerial displays by fighter jets.
At least 10 Chinese companies have also pulled out after Singapore imposed a ban on people travelling from China in a bid to stem the spread of the virus, while a major aviation conference on the eve of the air show was axed.They are taking precautions such as limiting the number of public tickets and advising participants to greet one another by waving from a distance or bowing, instead of shaking hands.
There are some 930 exhibiting companies and more than 40,000 trade attendees from more than 45 countries, down from the last edition of the show in 2018 when over 54,000 trade participants and more than 1,000 companies took part. "While the travel restrictions have impacted the number of attendees at this year's Airshow, the current participant count tells us that is still regarded as one of the world's leading aerospace and defence exhibitions."
The International Air Transport Association told AFP it was a"challenging time" and airlines would be"impacted negatively", but added it was too early to assess the full damage.
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