Malaysia’s 39 airports reported a 23.4% year-on-year (YOY) decline in passenger numbers for February as the COVID-19 coronavirus hit travel demand in Southeast Asia hard.

The country’s main hub, Kuala Lumpur International (KUL), reported passenger reductions of 25.7% for international flights and 20.5% for domestic flights.

Dips were more severe at secondary airports. Airports in Malaysia aside from KUL saw numbers fall 49.1% for international passenger traffic, and as much as 69.1% for passengers from outside Southeast Asia.

The region’s tourism sector has been badly hurt by the drop in demand related to the coronavirus. Malaysia Airlines has cut its capacity to China by 53% and to South Korea and Japan by 23%.

At the time of writing, Malaysia has 149 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Photo credit: Malaysia Airports