Airlines slash schedules, jobs and pay after travel restrictions

Cutting capacity: A British Airways plane taxis past tail fins of parked aircraft at Heathrow Airport in London. Its owner said that it would cut flying capacity by at least three quarters in April and May. — Reuters

SYDNEY: Airlines around the world said they would make more drastic cuts to their flying schedules, shed jobs and seek government aid after countries further tightened border restrictions because of the fast spreading coronavirus.

The owner of British Airways said yesterday that it would cut flying capacity by at least three quarters in April and May, and that its outgoing boss, Willie Walsh, would defer his retirement as the carrier tries to survive the fallout of the virus.