Qantas stock loses more than $1 billion in 2020 as coronavirus bites

Qantas' stock price fell more than 11 per cent in the opening few minutes of the Australian share market as investors scramble away from the airline in the wake of the coronavirus.

In January Qantas' stock price was soaring at $7.15 a piece, but as travel restrictions and concerns about the infectiousness of planes rises it is now trading at $3.97.

On market capitalisation, Qantas has lost $1.27 billion off its stock in a little over four weeks.

READ MORE: ASX plunges $155 billion as top economist forecasts Aussie recession

Todays drop comes after the airline was forced to cut its international capacity by almost a quarter for the next six months.

The biggest reductions are in Asia (now down 31 per cent compared with the same period last year), US (down 19 per cent), the UK (down 17 per cent) and Trans-Tasman (down 10 per cent).

In another radical cost-cutting exercise, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce will not take the rest of his $23.8 million salary for the remaining financial year.

READ MORE: How Qantas flight changes affect your travel plans amid coronavirus crisis

It's a move that Mr Joyce says is a battle for the "survival of the fittest" in the global airline market as he works to prevent redundancies.

"We will be trying to avoid redundancies as best we can," Mr Joyce said yesterday.

"We are, in this situation, with this schedule, having over 2,000 people that are surplus to that schedule, we will be managing that reduction through asking people to take paid leave and unpaid leave."

Analysis by the International Air Transport Association shows that if COVID-19 continues to spread, global airlines stand to lose ($USD 113 billion) $171.12 billion.

While much of that will be in reduced flying capacity, other potential costs include a hike in full-scale cabin cleaning, fuel expiration on the ground and paying wages for underused staff.

At 1130 AEDT Qantas stock was trading at $4.06.