(Adds background, detail)
LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - British Airways-owner IAG
posted a loss of 4.37 billion euros ($5.31 billion) for
2020 after a year of minimal flying and burning through cash,
and it warned on Friday it could not say what would happen in
2021.
The worsening travel outlook and tighter restrictions
brought in by countries over the last two months have threatened
to ruin Europe's critical summer season and leave some carriers
in need of another round of funding support, analysts warn.
IAG said that the ongoing uncertainty and duration of
COVID-19 meant that it could not provide a future profit
forecast, illustrating the scale of the challenge for IAG's new
boss Luis Gallego, who is six months into the job.
The group's focus continues to be on cutting costs to reduce
cash burn to try to ride out the crisis.
IAG said on Friday it had total liquidity of 10.3 billion
euros, and there were now signs there could be some relief on
the way for its strained finances.
UK-focused airlines were buoyed earlier this week when
Britain laid out plans for travel markets to possibly reopen
from mid-May, prompting a flood of bookings, but uncertainty
remains over whether it will include IAG's long-haul routes.
"Getting people travelling again will require a clear
roadmap for unwinding current restrictions when the time is
right," IAG's Gallego said in a statement on Friday.
"We're calling for international common testing standards
and the introduction of digital health passes to reopen our
skies safely."
IAG's 2020 operating loss before exceptional items was
slightly better than a consensus forecast for a 4.45 billion
euros loss, after it sunk to a 1.165 billion euro loss in the
October-December quarter.
($1 = 0.8230 euros)
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton)
International Airlines (IAG)
