The data,provided toThe Age andSydney Morning Herald, shows the total number of scheduled international flights in and out of Australia falling from 4328 in the last week of January to 3518 this week - a decline of 18 per cent.
However,that also reflects the end of the peak holiday travel period,with the decline closer to 10 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
Australia barred non-residents who have been in China during the past 14 days from travelling to Australia on February 20 due to the COVID-19 outbreak,which is set to remain in place at least until March 7.
Meanwhile,both business travellers and holiday makers are cancelling travel plans in and around Asia,behaviour that threatens to spread to other regions as the virus does.
The International Air Transport Association has forecast global air traffic to fall 4.7 per cent this year because of the virus outbreak,which will be the first overall decline since the global financial crisis in 2008.
Peter Harbison,executive chairman of industry intelligence firm Centre for Aviation,said the virus could have a lasting impact on the Asia-Pacific airline market if it continues for much longer.