Russia’s Aeroflot said on Tuesday its total debt rose by more than a third during the first nine months of 2020 as a weaker rouble raised its leasing costs and revenue fell. Russia’s central bank warned last week that airlines facing debt servicing problems due to the coronavirus crisis and the rouble weakness may need additional government support. Moscow has not imposed a complete lockdown during a second wave of the coronavirus and some international travel routes are gradually being restored, with Aeroflot resuming flights to Seoul, Belgrade and Tokyo in October and November. Aeroflot’s debt rose 36.1% to 780.55b roubles ($10.3b) by the end of Q3, when many passenger planes around the world remained grounded by the pandemic. In October, Aeroflot announced plans to raise at least 80b roubles in a secondary public offering (SPO) in Moscow for general corporate purposes and deleveraging. Despite cutting operating costs, excluding aircraft fuel, by almost a third in July-September to 77.42b roubles, Aeroflot reported a Q3 net loss of 21.1b roubles, compared to a 29.1b rouble profit a year ago.<br/>
sky
China's airline industry is showing signs of recovery as the passenger count of the country's largest carrier rose for the second straight month from a year ago, fueled by pent-up demand for domestic travel during weekends and holidays. China Southern Airlines reported 11.79m domestic passengers in October, a 3% increase from October 2019. But international flights still face a 95% plunge with no sign of a rebound. Air China said it recorded a second-straight monthly increase in domestic flights, up 4% in October from a year ago. China Eastern, meanwhile, posted a 3% decline the same month after a rise of 1% in September. The so-called big three of China's state-owned carriers show clear signs of recovery in the domestic sector, in contrast to their international flights, which show a monthly decrease of more than 90%. Some airlines are running discount campaigns that offer unlimited flights for specified periods to boost demand in the wake of the coronavirus. Combined sales of the three airlines from January to September only notched 156b yuan ($23.75b) -- a 50% year-on-year decrease. Total net loss amounted to 26b yuan, a deep dive from a net profit of 15b yuan posted during the same period last year.<br/>
More details have emerged of the latest Covid-19 case in HCM City, the first community infection in Vietnam for three months. The Ministry of Health has said the case emerged when a flight attendant from Vietnam Airlines who had tested positive for the virus “lowered his guard” and met with friends and family when he should have been self-isolating. As a result one of his friends, a 32-year-old teacher from Ward 3 in District 6, contracted coronavirus. The authorities say almost 200 people have either had close contact with the new patient, or secondary contact. He also visited a café and karaoke bar in the past few days. The Ministry said the flight attendant tested positive after staying at a quarantine site of the national flag carrier in Tân Bình district of Hồ Chí Minh City from Nov 14 to 18. After testing negative twice, he was allowed to undergo self-quarantine at his boarding house in Tân Bình district. During this period, the patient had close contact with his mother and two friends. The male friend was living in the same property. The attendant then had a third test on Nov 28 which came back positive. <br/>