Flight attendants from American, United, and more reveal what's making them anxious as coronavirus spreads and the airline industry spirals into a virus-driven freefall (UAL, AAL, SAVE)

Airlines in the US and around the world are cancelling flights, reducing service, and cutting costs , as coronavirus fears lead to plummeting travel demand.
Although many have chosen to cancel or postpone their travel plans, fearing that they'll catch the virus on an airplane or in a hotel, flight attendants don't have that option.
Business Insider spoke with flight attendants who said that while they weren't too concerned about the virus, they've become increasingly worried about being able to make ends meet if the public continues to avoid flying.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .

The ongoing spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has led to turmoil for the airline industry.

Over the past two months, airlines have seen their stock hit new multiyear lows as plummeting travel demand has forced them to suspend routes, reduce flights, waive ticket policies, and find other ways to cut costs.

Although the drop in demand initially seemed limited to flights going to one of the destinations with major outbreaks: China, Japan, South Korea, and Italy public anxiety over the virus has led travelers to postpone vacations, and corporations to suspend business travel and cancel major conferences and expos, regardless of location or destination.

While some are nervous about being in close proximity to other people on airplanes or in airports, and others thanks to nightmare stories about quarantines are worried about traveling anywhere away from home, there's one group of people that can't avoid flying: Flight attendants.

Business Insider spoke with flight attendants from several different airlines to see how they feel about being on airplanes during the outbreak, now that it's more widespread, and the impact has been more costly to airlines, than it was just one month ago . After all, according to Sara Nelson, head of the Association of Flight Attendants, they're literally "on the front line of any communicable disease."

Most of the workers said they weren't terribly concerned about the virus, even if they were being careful and hoped to avoid contracting it.

However, through discussions with flight attendants both on background and off-the-record, one underlying concern was evident: That as airlines' pockets continue to lighten as passengers put off travel, hoping to avoid the virus, the flight attendants' job security could erode.

As they continue to take to the skies, here's how America's flight attendants are dealing with the threat of the coronavirus.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider