Airline passenger numbers in China collapsed by 85 per cent last month in a sign of the devastating toll the coronavirus epidemic is having on the country’s economy.

The Chinese aviation regulator announced on Thursday that the numbers of people flying in February were down 84.5 per cent compared to the same month last year.

This huge drop meant Chinese airlines lost revenue of about £2.35bn, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) reported.

Since the coronavirus outbreak began to spread in January from the city of Wuhan, most internal flights have been suspended in an effort to contain the virus.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese people normally travel to stay with family over the Lunar New Year holiday, providing a boost for airlines.

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But severe restrictions on movement, as well as de facto quarantines of entire cities and regions such as Wuhan, has savaged the industry.

The CAAC said it would offer subsidies to airlines struggling to cope with the sudden loss of business, while charges for taking off and landing at airports will also be reduced and airport infrastructure spending will rise by £11bn over the rest of the year.

However, at least one company, the fourth-largest carrier in the country, Hainan Airlines, could be being effectively nationalised, the Financial Times reported.

State officials have reportedly already taken on senior management roles at the heavily-indebted parent company of the airline, and the government is mulling whether to go further and take over the firm entirely.

However, as China’s outbreak of Covid-19 seems to be stabilising, the government is trying to restart its battered economy.

There were only eight new infections reported in Hubei province, where the pandemic began, on Thursday: the first time the epicentre of the coronavirus has seen single-digit new cases.

Overall, there were just 15 confirmed new cases in mainland China, compared with 83 new cases in the UK.

The total number of cases in China now stands at 81,000, but nearly 80 per cent of those have already recovered from the infection.

Many factories are now being reopened and containment measures in some key industrial hubs are being relaxed to kickstart the economy.

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“The epidemic control measures have put an enormous strain on China’s enterprises, especially the small and medium-sized ones in the service sector,” an editorial in the state-controlled China Daily newspaper said.

“Any further delay in their return to normal operations will entail widespread bankruptcies and job losses, which will threaten social stability.”

Airlines around the globe have also suffered during the coronavirus outbreak. Norwegian Air, a budget European carrier, announced earlier this week it would cut 15 per cent of its flights and temporarily lay off “a significant share” of its work force to deal with falling demand.

Many British airlines have already cancelled all flights to Italy, home to Europe’s worst outbreak of Covid-19.

The EU has also announced it will relax rules on the take-off and landing slots airlines need. Under the existing ‘use it or lose it’ regulations some carriers had continued running almost empty planes for fear of forfeiting the precious slots to their rivals if they suspended flights.