Virus fears loom over Singapore Airshow

SINGAPORE - Singapore kicked off Asia's largest aerospace event under heightened scrutiny on Tuesday as thousands of visitors shunned the Singapore Airshow over coronavirus fears, while all eyes were on a sensitive fly-off between US and Chinese fighters.

Organisers hailed a "strong show of support" as the city-state's defence and trade ministers inaugurated the Feb 11-16 event, with official forecasts of attendance scaled down to 40,000 trade visitors from 45,000 on Sunday.

Officials said they had taken extra precautions including heat-screening of attendees for signs of fever.

But foreign reporters and delegates estimated well below 10,000 people were attending on opening day, usually the show's busiest, and another signature of air shows - big-spending military delegations - was less evident than in the past.

Some spaces where exhibitors including Chinese planemaker COMAC had pulled out were turned into "rest areas" or roped off.

Over 70 companies have pulled out of one of Southeast Asia's top economic events, citing fears over the outbreak.

Those fears have spilled over to broader concerns over demand for aviation, one of the industries most exposed to the epidemic that has killed more than 1,000 people.

UK-based consultancy Ascend by Cirium, which tracks schedule data worldwide, estimated over the weekend that flights involving China had halved compared to normal levels

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