An airline hostess wearing a facemask holds her smart phone next to empty check-in counters (right) at Beijing Capital International Airport on April 13, 2020. (PHOTO /AFP)

Air-passenger traffic slumped 54% in China in the first three months of 2020 as the coronavirus outbreak and related travel restrictions decimated demand.

READ MORE: IATA: China's air passenger volume to reach 1.6b by 2037

China’s aviation industry lost 39.8 billion yuan (US$5.6 billion) in the first quarter, with airlines accounting for 33.6 billion yuan, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said at a briefing in Beijing on Wednesday. Passenger volume fell to 74.1 million, with a 72% tumble to 15.1 million in March. Air cargo dropped 23% in March from a year earlier to 484,000 tons, according to CAAC.

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The global airline industry may lose US$314 billion in ticket sales this year because of the coronavirus, according to the latest forecast by the International Air Transport Association, 25% more than previously expected. When air travel resumes, social-distancing norms could further hamper revenue, IATA said Tuesday.