Vietnam Airlines may face liquidity crunch due to coronavirus headwinds

Flag carrier Vietnam Airlines may face a liquidity shortage from late next month due to the coronavirus pandemic impact, the government said on Tuesday, as it explores measures to help the firm.

Though Vietnam has successfully contained its own outbreak and its airlines are quickly restoring and expanding their domestic operations to meet growing demand, a ban on international commercial flights is still in place.

“Without liquidity support, Vietnam Airlines will face a liquidity shortage from the end of August,” Vietnam Airlines chief executive officer Duong Chi Thanh said in a news release on a government website.

The company will lose 50 trillion dong ($2.16 billion) in revenue this year due to the impact of the pandemic, Thanh said in the news release, which was issued after Monday’s meeting of government economic advisors.