Jetstar flights hit by swine flu "hysteria"
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star will cancel 31 of its Japan flights next month – almost one third of total services – due to “significant softening” of passenger loads amid swine flu fears. The Australian reported the airline as warning that more cutbacks may follow if conditions don’t improve.
Jetstar spokesperson, Simon Westaway, was reported saying that the swine flu fears had spilled into all sectors of the market. “Initially, we were seeing a lot of school group cancellations but it is now transferring through to Japanese nationals of any background or persuasion,” Westaway told The Australian.
Meanwhile the Australian Tourism Council has blasted the media and politicians for what it called “hysteria” over the H1N1 virus.
“I’m becoming increasingly alarmed over the hysteria over the swine flu business,” the Council’s Managing Director, Matthew Hingerty, was reported saying. “My members are rapidly losing business as a result of an overreaction and I appeal to our political leaders and media commentators to keep this in perspective.”
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