Qatar Airways reports $1.9 bn loss as Covid-19 hammers aviation industry

The airline also disclosed it had received a 7.3 billion riyal advance from its owner, the government of Qatar, after March that has since been converted into new shares

Long-haul carrier Qatar Airways on Sunday reported revenue losses of USD 1.9 billion for the past year, blaming the coronavirus pandemic, its liquidation of shares in Air Italy and the ongoing boycott of Doha by four Arab nations for the drop.

The state-owned carrier also blamed new accounting rules for further adding to losses for the past fiscal year, which ended March 31.

If not for the exceptional circumstances of fiscal year 2020, our results would have been better than the year before, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker said in a statement.

It also restated its losses for the previous year in the financial report Sunday, putting it at close to USD 1.3 billion as opposed to the USD 639 million it earlier reported. It lost USD 69 million in 2018.

 

The coronavirus pandemic halted global aviation for months, which only has begun to pick back up. Qatar also has been targeted by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in a boycott since June 2017.

That boycott continues today, despite efforts by other Gulf Arab nations and the U.S. to reconcile the countries involved in the political dispute.