Caribbean Airlines revenue falls $2.2b in 2020

STATE CARRIER Caribbean Airlines Ltd recorded a massive $738 million operating loss last year, the company said in a statement announcing its unaudited financial position for the year ending December 31, 2020.

The company's revenue was $802 million for the period.

An operating loss is the company's net income or earnings before payments for interest and taxation (EBIT) and focuses on a company's ability to generate a profit from operations, ignoring variables like tax rates.

This performance is in stark contrast to the airline's performance the year before, when CAL's operating profit was $76 million and revenue was $3 billion for the 12 months of 2019 – or a 1,072 per cent fall year-on-year.

Operating expenses for 2020 were $1.54 billion or 47 per cent lower than 2019, owing to fewer flights and strict cost controls.

The entire airline industry suffered over the last year as countries all over the world restricted travel and closed borders to commercial flights in an effort to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trinidad and Tobago's borders have been closed since March 22.