Major world airlines yesterday reduced almost all flights on a temporary basis as the worsening coronavirus crisis sparks travel bans, ravages demand and sends shares into freefall, triggering pleas to help carriers survive.

IAG, the owner of British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia, announced it would slash flight capacity by 75 percent during April and May owing to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The London-based carrier’s share price crashed nearly 27 percent in mid-afternoon deals.

Other airlines tumbled, with Germany’s Lufthansa erasing almost 11 percent in value and Air France wiping out 17 percent on similar announcements.

Britain’s Virgin Atlantic added that it has decided to park 75 percent of its total fleet — and in April this will rise as high as 85 percent.

Virgin has reportedly called upon the UK government to inject emergency support totalling 7.5 billion pounds ($9.2 billion, 8.3 billion euros) to help keep Britain’s aviation industry flying.

In Germany, Lufthansa has been forced to scrap around two-thirds of its flights in coming weeks as several countries including the United States ban travellers from Europe.

EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren added: “European aviation faces a precarious future and it is clear that coordinated government backing will be required to ensure the industry survives and is able to continue to operate when the crisis is over.”

Irish budget carrier Ryanair meanwhile did not rule out a full grounding as it unveiled stinging flight cutbacks.