Hanoi (VNA) - Singapore Airlines (SIA) has scrapped its plan for a "flight to nowhere" following a review of factors, including environmental implications and financial viability.

With the aviation industry in deep crisis, 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.

They are designed for travel-starved people keen to fly at a time of virus-related restrictions, and have proved surprisingly popular.

However, environmental activists voiced opposition to Singapore Airlines’ launching "flights to nowhere", with group SG Climate Rally saying it is now an opportune moment to think seriously about transitions instead of yearning to return to a destructive status quo.

The airline said earlier this month that it was cutting about 4,300 jobs, or 20 percent of its workforce, becoming 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 27.8 billion USD this year.

The group also forecasts that global air traffic is unlikely to return to pre-coronavirus levels until at least 2024./.