China Aviation Stocks Sink as Omicron Clouds Path to Normalization

Shares of major Chinese airlines dipped as the discovery of a new variant of Covid-19 triggered fresh travel restrictions and further obscured the aviation industry’s path to recovery.

To tackle the spread of the omicron variant — first identified in southern Africa early this month and designated a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday — a growing list of countries have restricted flights and non-residents travelling from some southern African countries.