Vietnam Airlines : reports $453 million net loss due to COVID-19

HANOI (Reuters) - Flag carrier Vietnam Airlines reported a net loss of $453 million in the first nine months of this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company said on Friday in a financial report.

The company's net loss in the third quarter was $170 million, compared with a net profit of $65.1 million during the same period last year, it said.

"COVID-19 pandemic has left extremely huge impact on the global aviation industry, including Vietnam Airlines," the company said in a separate statement on Friday.

It said revenue from international passenger services in the third quarter fell 95.4% from a year earlier.

The Vietnamese government, which holds the controlling 86.19% stake in Vietnam Airlines, said in July the company was facing liquidity shortage and needed government support.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu; editing by David Evans)