Thai Airways International has posted a huge loss for the third quarter after the coronavirus pandemic shut down global tourism.
Acting president Chansin Treenuchagron said on Thursday the carrier's net loss in the third quarter ending September was 21.53 billion baht, compared to 4.68 billion baht for the same period last year.
The number of passengers was down 92% from the third quarter of 2019 to only 490,000.
Mr Chansin said the Covid-19 pandemic was still having a major impact on business, limiting air travel worldwide and keeping foreign tourists away.
Tourism is a key driver of the Thai economy, accounting for around 20% of gross domestic product.
Thailand had 6.7 million foreign visitors in the first nine months of the year, down about 77% from almost 30 million last year, according to figures from the Tourism and Sports Ministry. Most of those arrived in the first quarter, before the virus closed down tourism. The number of tourists from overseas last month was zero.
