Mar 5, 2020 - Health

Southwest Airlines CEO compares coronavirus travel declines to post-9/11

Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines in Annapolis, Maryland in 2018. Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said on Thursday that the drop in domestic air travel amid the novel coronavirus outbreak "has a 9/11-like feel," CNBC anchor Carl Quintanilla reports.

Driving the news: The spread of COVID-19 could cost airlines up to $113 billion in lost revenue due to declines in air travel this spring and early summer, the International Air Transport Association projected earlier on Thursday.

What they're saying: "We're 97% domestic, so what we're seeing is a drop-off in domestic travel," Kelly added.

"We could discount prices and it wouldn't do any good .... We are not running dramatic fare sales," he said, according to Reuters' David Shepardson.

Go deeper: Coronavirus to deliver largest decline in international travel to U.S. since financial crisis

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