Operators of private jets have reported a surge in enquiries during the spread of the coronavirus.

The uptick in interest comes as airlines are scaling back flights to and from mainland China and Hong Kong. Wealthy individuals are looking to private jets, but are being turned away as a result of travel bans and insufficient aircraft and crews, BBC reports.

According to Darin Voyles, of Australia-based Paramount Business Jets, the company had reported a ''considerable uptick'' in requests, but most can’t be filled as they are unable to get the crew or planes.

"Many simply do not want to send their aircraft and crews into mainland China. Aside from the risk of exposure for the crews, the operational and business concern is that when they return from mainland China they will essentially be unable to work for two weeks as they will have to go into quarantine immediately,” he added.

Furthermore, MyJet Asia, based in Singapore, announced it has seen an 80-90% rise in enquiries over the past month. CEO Logan Ravishkansar commented: "A lot of people went away for Chinese New Year and are now struggling to get back to China. But we are massively restricted on where we can fly to, while the airlines are not letting us charter their planes despite the money.” Many have requested to be flown back to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Private jet company VistaJet reported significant growth in enquiries over the past month, despite having ceased operations to and from China: "While a large portion of the increase can be related to Chinese New Year travel, we also attribute the growth to customers preferring a private flight rather than a commercial option during a delicate time affected by the coronavirus outbreak," said Ian Moore, VistaJet’s Chief Commercial Officer.

The MyJet Asia CEO added it was far easier to charter planes in 2003 during the SARS outbreak: "We also saw huge demand back then but it was a lot easier to fly in and out of countries. This time around, governments have put on more controls."

Demand for private jet charter flights also surged in 2014 amid fears of the Ebola virus.

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