Qatar Airways receives $1.95bn government lifeline after losses widen

Qatar Airways has received a 7.3 billion riyal ($1.95 billion) lifeline from the Qatar government after losing almost 7 billion riyal in the year.

This was revealed in the airline’s financial statement on Sunday September 27, 2020.

“The lifeline was provided to Qatar Airways after annual losses exceeded 50% of share capital and was later converted into new shares,” the statement says.

Qatar Airways, which has slashed jobs and delayed new aircraft deliveries due to the pandemic, flagged in March that it would seek state support but had not until now disclosed the funding.

The airline said, “The 2019-20 financial year had been one of the most difficult in our nearly three-decade history, with losses widening from a restated 4.5 billion riyal loss in the previous year.”

However, the true impact of the crisis on Qatar Airways is unclear as global lockdowns continued beyond its financial year-end.

Qatar Airways Group includes the airline, management of Qatar’s international airport and other aviation assets.

Since mid-2017, the airline has been banned from the airspace of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates due to a regional political dispute that forces it to fly longer routes.