SAS recorded huge losses in the last quarter due to the collapse of air travel demand during the coronavirus pandemic, the Scandinavian airline announced on Tuesday.
The number of passengers declined by 86% in the quarter between May and July, the airline said.
Total revenue tanked by 81%, from 13.4 billion Swedish krona (1.29 billion euros) to 2.5 billion krona (0.24 billion euros).
As a result, earnings before tax came in at minus 2.1 billion krona, compared to 1.5 billion krona in the same period last year.
The airline received 12 billion krona from shareholders to bolster its operations, but had to cut costs and let go of 5,000 employees, of whom 4,000 had already been made redundant, according to the statement.
Recapitalization plan
"Although there are significant challenges ahead, I am confident that SAS will return as a sustainable and profitable airline following a successful implementation of the recapitalization plan," said SAS chief Rickard Gustafson.
Demand began rising slowly, especially in domestic travel and routes to European holiday destinations.
"Our current expectation is that the ramp-up phase for the airline industry may last until 2022 before demand can reach more normalized levels, with a return to pre-Covid-19 levels a few years thereafter," Gustafson said.
