Air France-KLM reports passenger decline

Air France-KLM reported a sharp drop Thursday in passenger numbers for March compared to a year earlier, one day after aircraft manufacturer Airbus announced plans to cut production. Air France-KLM carried a total of around 3.6m passengers in March, down 56.6% from a year earlier. Its load factor – which measures the extent to which an airline's planes are full – also fell by 20.5 points from a year ago. The airline added it was expecting to suspend more than 90 percent of its planned capacity over the course of April and May, as a result of travel restrictions imposed around the world in a bid to thwart the spread of the coronavirus. "Beyond May 2020, the group is currently unable to provide insight due to the high level of uncertainty over the duration of the crisis," Air France-KLM said. The airline added it was continuously monitoring the situation and accordingly evaluating if additional network adjustments would be required.<br/>