Greece's Aegean Airlines swings to profit in 2021

Greece’s largest carrier Aegean Airlines swung to a net profit in 2021, after losses in the previous year, as passenger traffic recovered from pandemic travel restrictions. Aegean said on Wednesday it made net earnings of E5.1m (US$5.6m) last year, compared with a loss of E227.9m in 2020. Sales rose 63% to E674.8m. CE Dimitris Gerogiannis said the pandemic had a significant impact last year, and the recovery in passenger traffic mainly took place in June-to-October, as it was interrupted by the emergence of the Omicron variant in November. “In 2022 the sector expects a significant rebound and demand for Greece’s tourism product looks particularly strong. At the same time though, Russia’s invasion in Ukraine caused new uncertainties, seriously impacting the cost of fuel,” he said. The airline flew 7.19m passengers last year, up 39% from 2020, with its load factor - a key industry measure of filled seats - easing to 65.5% from 67.4% in 2020. The company’s cash reserves at the end of December stood at E474.4m, the airline said.<br/>