Vietnam Airlines foresees a heavy loss this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has forecast a consolidated pre-tax loss for 2020 of nearly 15.18 trillion VND (over 650 million USD) due to COVID-19.

At its repeatedly-delayed annual shareholders’ meeting on August 10, General Director Duong Tri Thanh said the pandemic has spread around the world and completely changed the global economy, including Vietnam’s.

The International Air Transport Association has predicted that traffic levels will fall by 54.7 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, revenues will drop 419 billion USD, and airlines will post losses of over 84 billion USD. Meanwhile, 11.2 million people will likely lose their jobs in the aviation industry.

Vietnam Airlines plans to suspend flights to Europe and Australia in the time ahead but is also set to resume routes to Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia in October, Thanh noted, with about three to five flights a week initially.

The domestic aviation market is expected to see more than 18 million passengers over the remaining months of 2020, equivalent to 90 percent of the figure in the same period last year. The number of passengers on domestic routes is forecast at 34.95 million, down 20 percent year-on-year.

Vietnam Airlines earned a record 100.32 trillion VND in consolidated revenue last year, up 1.4 percent year-on-year. Consolidated pre-tax profit also hit an all-time high of almost 3.39 trillion VND, up 2.3 percent.

It conducted 135,000 flights carrying 22.9 million passengers, with an on-time performance (OTP) rate of some 90 percent, it reported.

The shareholders’ meeting also elected a new board of directors for the tenure 2020-2025. The board has chosen Dang Ngoc Hoa as its head, replacing Pham Ngoc Minh./.

VNA