Japan Airlines forecasts over $2.3 billion annual net loss as pandemic grounds air travel

Tokyo: Japan Airlines said Friday it had forecast an annual net loss of more than $2.3 billion after the coronavirus pandemic grounded air travel around the world.

The carrier, Japan’s second-largest by market share, said it expected a net loss of 240-270 billion yen for the year ending March 2021.

It did not issue annual forecasts when it published first quarter earnings in August, citing deep uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.

“The airline industry has been… affected in an unprecedented way and fallen into very difficult circumstances” due to the pandemic, the company said in a statement.