An airplane from China Eastern Airlines at the Beijing Daxing International Airport Photo: Courtesy of China Eastern Airlines

The Chinese aviation industry has suffered big losses with data from major domestic carriers and airports showing that their profits have declined dramatically during the epidemic outbreak, and those losses will not be recovered in the short term.

On Wednesday, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines released their first quarter performance reports, both of which recorded significant losses.

China Southern Airlines' operating revenue was 21.141 billion yuan ($2.99 billion), a year-on-year decrease of 43.82 percent, and net profit fell by 29.64 percent with a loss of 5.262 billion yuan.

China Eastern said its operating income was 15.454 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 48.58 percent, and the net profit fell 29.06 percent with a loss of 3.933 billion yuan.

Both companies have attributed the losses to the pandemic, which has caused passenger travel demand to shrink dramatically.

At the same time, major Chinese airports have witnessed a dramatic fall in profits.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport said that it made a net profit of 80.57 million yuan in the January-March period, a decline of 94.21 percent from the same period last year. Revenue dropped 41.02 percent year-on-year to 1.64 billion yuan.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport said on Monday night that its operating revenue of 1.314 billion yuan in the first quarter was a year-on-year decrease of 34.58 percent, and net profit saw a drop of 63 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of -125.88 percent, which turned profit to loss.

The airports said their fleet numbers, passenger turnover, and cargo turnover all sharply declined.

Domestic air passenger demand has begun to recover, at least to some extent, as China's overall control of the epidemic situation is showing positive signs. However, as overseas countries keep tightening international aviation restrictions, it is widely believed that international air passenger traffic will continue to fall further.

Global Times