Carriers take earnings hit from COVID-19 in H1

Major Chinese carriers slipped into the red during the first half of the year as the COVID-19 epidemic slammed their businesses, but rising passenger numbers during the second half of the year may see the carriers end the year in positive territory, experts said on Monday.

China's top three carriers posted a combined loss of more than 26 billion yuan ($3.79 billion) in the first six months of this year due to the slump in passenger numbers, according to their filings.

Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines saw their revenues plunge by 54.61 percent, 57.25 percent and 46.58 percent respectively on a yearly basis in the first six months, while their net losses were 9.4 billion yuan, 8.5 billion yuan and 8.2 billion yuan respectively.