When Can We Expect Travel To Return To “Normal”? Apple Reopens 90% Of China Stores And Wuhan Closes The Last Temporary Coronavirus Hospital

With news that Donald Trump is to suspend travel between Europe and the U.S. for 30 days from Friday, it may seem like the situation surrounding the global Coronavirus outbreak is getting worse.

As the World Health Organization labeled COVID-19 a pandemic on Wednesday countries including the U.S. are indeed taking unprecedented measures to protect against the virus spreading.

However, in China, which has been hit hardest by the Coronavirus outbreak, life is starting to return back to normal.

Today Apple has reopened 38 of their 42 stores on the mainland that were previously all shuttered. Wuhan which was the centre of the outbreak, and entirely quarantined to prevent the spread of the outbreak has just closed the last of their temporary Coronavirus hospitals.

As an indication as to when we can expect the world of travel to normalise it would be good to look at China, which has now been affected by COVID-19 since November and saw the country all but closed off from the outside world. 

Currently, just a handful of flights, mostly from India, operate to China with most airlines keeping flights grounded. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping has made his first visit to Wuhan since the outbreak began and the rhetoric from China is that they are encouraging life to get back to normal, whilst claiming the virus is now under control.

Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed that “China is getting the coronavirus under control” in an interview with Fox Business as Apple reopened its China factories.

China may be further along the curve with its experience of the Coronavirus and could serve as a good blueprint to see how long it may take for the rest of the world to contain the virus.

The next 30 days will likely see travel and it’s subsequent demand decrease further still. Cruise companies and airlines have been particularly hard hit.

In the U.S. where domestic travel accounts for a large proportion of airlines’ revenue, the major U.S. carrier will remain better positioned than most European and Asian airlines. Delta has cut its capacity by 15% relative to Cathay Pacific which has reduced its capacity from Hong Kong by 75%.

With many people looking to China now to see when we can expect a return to normality, ports have reopened this week in the worlds second-largest economy and imports from the U.S. are beginning to flow again.

Many airlines are still allowing free ticket changes and refunds in an attempt to allow passengers flexibility but the next 30 days will be met with increased uncertainty, exemplified by flight suspensions between the Schengen Area and the U.S.