Staff at Korean Air have received a memo from their President warning that their country’s flag bearer may well not survive the financial effects of the Covid-19 outbreak. The communication comes as news emerges of a possible complete collapse of the airline industry worldwide.
大韩航空的员工收到了总统的一份备忘录，警告说该国的旗手很可能无法承受 Covid-19 疫情爆发带来的财务影响。此次沟通是在全球航空业可能彻底崩溃的消息传出之际发布的。
South Koreans represent the largest proportion of the foreign population of Nanjing. As well as the worry of living with an epidemic in a foreign country, so too they now fear for their national airline.
南京外来人口中，韩国人所占比例最大。除了担心在国外生活中流行病之外，他们现在也担心自己的国家航空公司。
They are not alone. Reports have emerged today that most of the world’s major airlines could be bankrupt by May. The CAPA Centre for Aviation in Sydney released a statement today warning that many airlines are probably technically bankrupt already.
他们并不孤单。今天有报道称，世界上大多数主要航空公司可能会在五月份破产。悉尼 CAPA 航空中心今天发表声明警告说，从技术上讲，许多航空公司可能已经破产。
The UK’s Flybe was Europe’s largest regional airline and the first of the world’s major carriers to go bankrupt. Is Korean Air next? The airline has approximately US$4.3bn of debt that matures this year, according to Moody’s Ratings.
英国的 Flybe 是欧洲最大的支线航空公司，也是全球第一家破产的大型航空公司。下一个是大韩航空吗？根据穆迪评级，该航空公司今年到期的债务约为 43 亿美元。
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Last month’s escalation of Covid-19 cases in South Korea caused travel bans or tough entry restrictions to be imposed on people travelling from South Korea to over 100 countries.
上个月韩国 Covid-19 病例的升级导致对从韩国前往 100 多个国家的人员实施旅行禁令或严格的入境限制。
As a result, Korean Air slashed more than 80 percent of its international capacity. This compares to an 18 percent cut in same during the financial crisis of 1997-98.
结果，大韩航空削减了 80% 以上的国际运力。相比之下，1997-98 年金融危机期间则减少了 18%。
In a memo written to staff, Korean Air’s president, Woo Kee-hong, said, “We can easily imagine the severity of the crisis we are facing in comparison. And what is more daunting is that the situation can get worse at any time, and we cannot even predict how long it will last”, according to Reuters.
据路透社报道，大韩航空总裁 Woo Kee-hong 在写给员工的备忘录中表示，“相比之下，我们很容易想象我们所面临的危机的严重性。更令人畏惧的是，情况随时可能变得更糟，我们甚至无法预测它会持续多久”。
A Korean Air spokesman also spoke with the BBC, saying the memo’s purpose was “to encourage employees and ask for understanding in overcoming the crisis together”. He added, “If the situation continues for a longer period, we may reach the threshold where we cannot guarantee the company’s survival”.
大韩航空发言人也接受了 BBC 采访，称该备忘录的目的是“鼓励员工并请求理解，共同克服危机”。他补充道，“如果这种情况持续较长时间，我们可能会达到无法保证公司生存的门槛”。
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The Asian carrier has to date grounded approximately 70 percent of its 145 passenger aircraft. They include all ten of its Airbus A380s, reports Switzerland-based Ch-aviation.
迄今为止，这家亚洲航空公司已停飞其 145 架客机中约 70%。据瑞士 Ch-aviation 报道，其中包括全部 10 架空客 A380。
Efforts at offsetting the ever-increasing debt include the sale of non-core assets and unprofitable business units, deferring investments, cutting operational expenses and encouraging employees to take voluntary leave.
抵消不断增加的债务的措施包括出售非核心资产和未盈利的业务部门、推迟投资、削减运营费用以及鼓励员工自愿休假。
On a global level, aviation consultants believe the coronavirus pandemic will bankrupt most airlines worldwide unless government and industry-led action is taken. If they can avoid falling from the skies altogether, they may find themselves merging in order to survive or having a government has the majority, or even sole, owner.
在全球范围内，航空顾问认为，除非政府和行业主导采取行动，否则冠状病毒大流行将使全球大多数航空公司破产。如果它们能够完全避免从天上掉下来，它们可能会发现自己为了生存而合并，或者政府拥有多数甚至唯一的所有者。
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is saying that the global airline industry could be looking at as much as US$113 billion in lost revenues for 2020.
国际航空运输协会 (IATA) 表示，2020 年全球航空业收入损失可能高达 1,130 亿美元。