Airbus announced that they will be closing their Airbus factory in Tianjin, located in northeastern China, due to recently imposed travel bans due to the outbreak of 2019-nCoV, AKA "Coronavirus". Local travel between home and work has also been difficult in China, as people are urged to stay home as much as possible. To decrease the risk of employees becoming sick or spreading their sickness, Airbus is temporarily closing their factory.

Another reason for the closure is the location of the factory. Due to recently imposed travel bans, it is difficult to fly aircraft in and out of China. Airbus's Tianjin factory also serves as an A330 delivery center, where A330s are given their final touches, such as cabin installments and paint jobs.

The Airbus A320 pictured is the same type of aircraft that is being produced in Airbus's Tianjin factory. Credit: TheExplorerBlog | Arkin Si

This closure means that Airbus will not be able to fly their aircraft out to their customers, resulting in a loss of revenue. In addition to this, it will be difficult to work efficiently when understaffed - many people do not want to leave their homes. This loss of revenue can be curbed by closing the factory altogether and/or having employees work from home.

Airbus's factory was projected to hit six aircraft per month by the end of 2019 and into early 2020. But, because of Chinese New Year and new health concerns such as the Coronavirus, it may be more difficult for Airbus to regain the pace they lost when idle.