Asian airline stocks plunged on Monday, part of a broader market reaction to the U.S. and Israel’s decision to strike Iran over the weekend.
The conflict, particularly Iran’s retaliation by firing missiles into neighboring countries like the United Arab Emirates, pushed airlines to cancel hundreds of flights to the Middle East. Three major airports—Doha in Qatar, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates—halted operations in response to the conflict. (The Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports also suffered damage from the strikes.)
Shares in Singapore Airlines are down by 4.5% as of 11:00pm Eastern time. Australia’s Qantas and Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific are down by 5.4% and 2.8% respectively. Japan Airlines, one of the country’s two major carriers, also fell by 5.6%.
In a March 1 statement, Singapore Airlines said it canceled a total of 16 flights between Feb. 28 and Mar. 7, which ply the Singapore-Dubai route. Its budget subsidiary, Scoot, also momentarily ceased flights between Singapore and the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.
Asian markets slumped overall. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is down by 1.6%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index dropped by 1.8%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell by 1.4%. (South Korea’s markets are closed today)
