Ethiopian Airlines' CEO Tewolde GebreMariam said the company has lost $550 million from January to April because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Due to coronavirus the airline is working at only 10% of its flight capacity and so far we have lost $550 million,” Mr. Tewolde said during a press briefing on Tuesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) had warned on Tuesday that about 25 million jobs in the aviation industry are at risk due to a sharp decline in demand as a result of COVID-19. However, Ethiopian Airlines "has not laid off any employees and has [also] no plan to do so," the CEO said. This is despite Ethiopian's suspension of 91 out of 110 of its passenger flight destinations.

Leaving most airlines without any revenue and struggling for survival, the coronavirus pandemic has brought air travel to a standstill.

Ethiopian is aiming to compensate for the loss by redirecting its business to cargo flights and maintenance, including charters for Europeans and Americans wanting to be repatriated to their countries.

“We have already repatriated U.S. peace corps as well as Europeans from Africa,” Mr. Tewolde said.

The United Nation’s International Civil Aviation Organization has called on governments to ensure cargo operations are not disrupted to maintain the availability of critical medicine and equipment such as ventilators and masks that will help fight the outbreak.

The Ethiopian government has declared a state of emergency in a growing effort to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. As of today (April 9, 2020), Ethiopia has 56 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

Source: Reuters