ATHENS (Reuters) - As passenger traffic plummeted and aircraft were grounded during the coronavirus pandemic, Greece's largest carrier Aegean Airlines posted a loss of 28.3 million euros ($33.6 million) on Tuesday for the third quarter.
On Monday, the Greek government declared that it was considering a cash infusion of EUR 120 million, subject to the approval of the European Union, for the airline, which is seen as vital to the tourism industry in Greece.
It was the airline's second consecutive quarterly loss, and in the third quarter of last year the net profit amounted to EUR 90.2 million.
In the third quarter, revenue for the airline, a member of the Star Alliance party, stood at 155.1 million, compared with 512.5 million in the same quarter of 2019.
As of July, the partial lifting of travel restrictions across Europe permitted the gradual resumption of international flights, although several countries remained inaccessible and, owing to the pandemic, demand remained poor, the airline said.
In the third quarter, Aegean operated 49% fewer flights than in the same stretch of 2019, and passenger traffic plummeted 62% .
The renewed travel restrictions and recent lockdowns across Europe and Greece would limit our operation to levels below 20 per cent of the corresponding 2019 duration for the winter 2020/2021 season, the airline said.
