The economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic are being felt in many sectors of the global economy – aviation and oil in particular – and they are hitting the biggest players.
After already announcing it would cut aircraft production by a third and that the company was “bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed”, aerospace giant Airbus has posted a first-quarter loss of more than $500m.
The CEO warns this is the “gravest crisis the industry has ever known”.
Boeing has already announced plans to cut as many as 7,000 jobs.
The company’s CEO predicts that global airline revenue could drop by more than $300bn this year, and it will take years to recover.
The United Kingdom’s national carrier, British Airways, is set to cut up to 12,000 jobs, about one-third of its workforce.
The airline has suspended 96 percent of its flights for April and May.
Associate Editor and Chief Correspondent of Orient Aviation Tom Ballantyne discusses this issue with Al Jazeera.
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