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Chinese Ditch Flying (and Blind Dates) in Blow to Airlines
- Holiday period usually sees biggest human migration on planet
- Airlines and trains see a slump in demand as people stay put
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Lunar New Year is usually a bonanza for Chinese airlines criss-crossing the country fully loaded with passengers. Not this year though, after the government took the rare step of encouraging people to stay at home as it tries to stamp out the coronavirus.
Chunyun, as the Lunar New Year travel season in China is known, is regarded as the world’s biggest annual human migration and can account for as much as a quarter of airlines’ annual profits, according to BloombergNEF analyst Luxi Hong.