Several Vietnamese airlines suffered great losses and debts last year as the COVID-19 pandemic, which began hitting the country in early 2020, led to a closure of borders and a suspension of commercial flights for two years.

Vietnam Airlines alone not only incurred accumulated losses of over US$967 million but also owed its employees more than $47 million in wages.

The national flag carrier saw its net revenue decrease 31 percent year on year to VND27.9 trillion ($1.23 billion) in 2021, resulting in a net loss of over VND13.33 trillion ($588.27 million).

In the fourth quarter of 2021, the company recorded a deficit of VND1,180 billion ($52.03 milion), marking its eighth consecutive quarter in the red.

Consequently, the firm’s accumulated loss amounted to VND21.97 trillion ($967,5 million) by the end of 2021, accounting for the most part of its equity.

Specifically, the carrier’s equity dropped to only VND507 billion ($22.34 million) at the end of last year, far lower than the VND6.11 trillion ($269.42 million) earlier the same year.

Also at the end of last year, Vietnam Airlines' total assets stood at more than VND63.1 trillion ($2.78 billion), just a bit above its liabilities of over VND62,59 trillion ($2.76 billion).

Notably, the firm owes its staff upwards of VND1.07 trillion ($47.22 million).

The situation is the same at low-cost carrier Vietjet Air, which reported a net loss of nearly VND102 billion ($4.49 million) for the fourth quarter of 2021.

Despite the deficit, the company finally earned an after-tax profit of more than VND100 billion ($4.4 million) for the whole year, an increase of 46 percent from 2020, mostly thanks to its financial operations. 

However, due to its ailing business in 2020 because of the pandemic, the firm eventually suffered an overall loss of VND1.95 trillion ($85.87 million).

At the end of 2021, Vietjet had total assets of VND51.78 trillion ($2.28 billion), up 15 percent from earlier that year, but their quality tended to deteriorate, the carrier reported.

Meanwhile, its liabilities rose to VND34.9 trillion ($1.53 billion), double its equity.

Last year, it had to pay loan interest of some VND800 billion ($35.27 million), 77 percent higher than a year before.

Among other debts, the firm owes VND81.6 billion ($3.59 million) to its employees.

Another carrier, Vietravel Airlines, which made its debut in late December 2020, reported an  accumulated loss of nearly VND350 billion ($15.43 million) for 2021, according to its consolidated financial statements.

The firm suspended operation during the second and third quarters of 2021 because of COVID-19, but it had to pay various costs including minimum pay to employees, depreciation, business space rentals, aircraft lease and maintenance, among other expenses, said Nguyen Quoc Ky, the company’s chairman.

By the end of last year, Viettravel Airlines had incurred total debts of 2.05 trillion ($90.34 million), mainly loan interest and finance lease liabilities.

The carrier also owed VND1.5 billion ($66,126) to its staff.

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