Singapore’s national airline records first-ever annual loss – dpa international

dpa

KUALA LUMPUR — Singapore Airlines reported a net annual loss of 212 million Singapore dollars (149 million US dollars) for the year to March 31, the first time in the carrier’s 48-year history that it failed to earn an annual profit.

The airline’s revenue was down nearly a billion dollars on 2019, when it posted a 683-million-dollar profit.

The carrier put the reversal largely down to the impact of the new coronavirus pandemic – which halted most international travel even before Singapore’s government closed the country’s borders and imposed a lockdown on April 7.

“Market conditions deteriorated abruptly in February,” Singapore Airlines noted in a statement.

The airline signalled in March that it would be forced to temporarily ground 96 per cent of its capacity due to the pandemic.

Thursday’s announcement by Singapore Airlines capped a week of mixed news for the city-state’s travel and aviation sectors.

Changi Airport was on Monday named World’s Best Airport for the eighth year in a row by voters in an internationally recognised industry poll.

However airport authorities announced the following day that a second of the hub’s four terminals would be closed temporarily from May 16.

Singapore’s cash-rich government has repeatedly pledged to protect Changi Airport and Singapore Airlines from the economic impact of the pandemic.

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