(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, 20 OTT - German airline Lufthansa on
Tuesday reported a loss of 1.26 billion euros ($1.49 billion) in
the third quarter of 2020 as it struggles to bounce back from
crippling coronavirus lockdowns. The sobering figure is a slight
improvement on quarter two's loss of 1.5 billion euros "due to
an expansion of the flight schedule in the summer months of July
and August and considerable cost reductions", the airline said
in a statement. But demand for air travel is expected to remain
low in the coming months "due to the global evolution of the
pandemic and the associated travel restrictions", it said. The
group therefore plans to operate at just 25 percent capacity in
the fourth quarter compared with the same period last year. Like
all of the world's airlines, the Lufthansa group -- which also
includes Swiss, Brussels and Austrian Airlines -- has been
brought to its knees by restrictions introduced to curb the
spread of the coronavirus. Around 700 of the group's 763
aircraft were grounded at the peak of the lockdowns and it was
forced to put 87,000 workers on government-backed shorter hours
schemes. (ANSA-AFP).
© Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved