Singapore Airlines has scrapped its 'flights to nowhere' aimed at boosting its coronavirus-hit finances after an outcry from environmental campaigners.
Several carriers, including those in Australia, Japan and Taiwan, have been offering short flights that start and end at the same airport to raise cash after the aviation industry was plunged into deep crisis amid the ongoing pandemic.
They are designed for travel-starved people keen to fly at a time of virus-related restrictions - and have proved surprisingly popular.
But Singapore's flag carrier, which has grounded nearly all its planes and cut thousands of jobs, announced earlier today that it had ditched the idea following a review.
Singapore Airlines has scrapped its 'flights to nowhere' aimed at boosting its coronavirus-hit finances after an outcry from environmental campaigners (stock image)
The carrier has come up with alternative ideas to raise revenue, including offering customers tours of aircraft and offering them the chance to dine inside an Airbus A380, the world's biggest commercial airliner.
Environmental activists had voiced opposition to Singapore Airlines launching 'flights to nowhere', with group SG Climate Rally saying they would encourage 'carbon-intensive travel for no good reason'.
'We believe air travel has always caused environmental harm, and it is now an opportune moment for us to think seriously about transitions instead of yearning to return to a destructive status quo.'
The airline said earlier this month it was cutting about 4,300 jobs - equating to 20 per cent of its workforce - as the latest carrier to make massive layoffs (stock image)
The airline said earlier this month it was cutting about 4,300 jobs - equating to 20 per cent of its workforce - as the latest carrier to make massive layoffs.
The International Air Transport Association estimates that airlines operating in the Asia-Pacific region stand to lose a combined $27.8billion (£21.6 billion) this year.
The group also forecasts that global air traffic is unlikely to return to pre-coronavirus levels until at least 2024.