El Al sees $30m Q1 revenue drop from virus impact

El Al Boeing 787 Dreamliner  photo: PR
El Al Boeing 787 Dreamliner photo: PR

The Israeli carrier, which has cancelled all flights to China, expects to make up most of the fall by reducing operational expenses.

El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) has notified the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) that it expects to see a $30 million cut in revenue in the first quarter of 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

El Al said, "We are routinely following developments in the world regarding coronavirus and considering its impact on operations." El Al says that the impact is mainly to, "destinations in the east."

However, El Al added that it expects to offset most of the expected fall in revenue, "following the reduction of the company's operational expenses." Thus El Al believes that streamlining operations can reduce the damage.

Two weeks ago El Al announced that it was suspending flights on its Tel Aviv - Beijing route until March and many of the flights from Tel Aviv to Hong Kong have also been cancelled.

Market sources say that passenger bookings on flights worldwide are 19% down with a fall of double that amount in Asia.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 12, 2020

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020

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