March 11 (SeeNews) - Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services (SMATSA) has recorded a 10% drop year-on-year in the number of flights it has handled since the beginning of March due to the coronavirus outbreak, Serbian media reported on Wednesday.
"Traffic in the airspace under the jurisdiction of SMATSA has been decreasing since the last days of February. In the last two weeks to date, this decrease is 10% year-on-year," news agency Tanjug quoted sources from SMATSA as saying.
The air traffic restrictions imposed by some countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus infection are expected to cause an additional decline in the number of flights serviced in the coming period, the sources noted.
The number of flights serviced by SMATSA rose by 11.39% on the year in January, while in February it grew by 15.17%, SMATSA said.
On Tuesday, Serbia's civil aviation regulator banned all flights from countries most affected by the coronavirus epidemic at local airports. The decision applies to flights from Italy, China, South Korea, Iran and Switzerland.