Budget carrier flydubai posts $194M loss due to pandemic

Budget carrier flydubai posts $194M loss due to pandemic

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai’s budget carrier flydubai reported Sunday a loss of $194 million in 2020 as revenue fell by more than 50 percent in what it described as one of the toughest years in the aviation industry.

The carrier’s financial losses reflect how the coronavirus pandemic has pummeled the aviation industry, resulting in the closure of airports, the suspension of flights and the loss of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of aviation jobs.

Flydubai’s net loss of $194 million last year stands in contrast to its profit of $54 million the year before. Revenue slid by more than half to $773 million last year compared to $1.6 billion in 2019. The company said the hardest weeks last year were between the end of March and the first week of July, a period in which even Dubai’s busy international airport was closed to all travelers.

The number of flights operated last year by flydubai fell by more than 60 percent, resulting in a dramatic decrease in passenger numbers, which plummeted to 3.2 million in 2020 compared to 9.6 million in 2019.

The company’s workforce shrank by 192 employees last year. Of the remaining 3,796 employees, nearly 1,100 have been