Coronavirus brings another year of struggle for Thai Airways

Carrier forced to trim flights after recording net loss for third straight year

Thai Airways canceled flights to China and Hong Kong, from early February until the end of March. It has also cut flights between Bangkok and Seoul from five to four round trips per day from Feb. 26 to March 28. © Reuters

MASAYUKI YUDA, Nikkei staff writer

March 2, 2020 20:57 JST

BANGKOK -- Thailand's loss-making national flag carrier Thai Airways International expects turbulence ahead due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus known as COVID-19.

On Monday, the state-owned airline announced that it had ended the year with a net loss of 12 billion baht ($383 million) in 2019. It was the third straight year with a net loss. The loss was larger by 3.6% compared to the previous year. Total revenue decreased 7.7% to 184 billion.