Qatar Airways reports losses of more than $4 Billion amid COVID-19 pandemic

Qatar Airways, the state-owned flag carrier of Qatar, has reported a loss of more than $4 billion in revenue over the last fiscal year. Though the airline has cited the COVID-19 pandemic as the major reason behind the huge loss, business experts noted the grounding of its Airbus A380 and A330 wide-body jets leads the company to suffer such a huge loss. Despite reporting a humongous loss in revenue, Qatar Airways reported an increase in earnings to $1.6 billion before taxes and other costs compared to the previous year. However, the country highlighted the drop in fuel prices, salary reduction of employees and firing of over thirteen thousand employees were some of the reasons behind the growth.

It is worth noting that the pandemic has hit international routes the hardest since the COVID-19 virus hit the country earlier in 2020. Since countries were closing their boundaries and the hard quarantine policy gave the airline sector a major blow last year. 
Moreover, the decision end to a year-long boycott that barred Qatar Airways out of the airspace of Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also contributed to the growth of the Doha-based airline. Earlier, the flights had to take longer routes that consume more jet fuel, resulting in rising expenses. In 2017, Qatar Airlines reopened key routes to hubs like Dubai, Cairo and Riyadh as the political dispute eased in January.

"Whilst our competitors grounded their aircraft and closed their routes, we adapted our entire commercial operation to respond to ever-evolving travel restrictions and never stopped flying," Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker said in a statement.

COVID vaccination drive is now lowering Qatar Airways loss

Moreover, it has also received a $3 billion relief package from the government that helped the airline to operate even during the COVID pandemic. According to airlines passenger data, it has witnessed a significant drop in ticket booking as compared to the pre-pandemic era. In 2019, nearly 32.3 million passengers had booked the flight whereas, in 2020, it had managed to sell 5.8 million tickets, making a staggering 82% drop in sales. However, the airline company claimed it has shown signs of recovery after the COVID vaccination drive helped the countries to open their boundaries. 

With inputs from AP

Image: Twitter/Qatar Airways