FRANKFURT, March 19 — The chief executive of German airline giant Lufthansa warned governments might need to save the industry from the coronavirus crisis, as "drastic cutbacks in flight operations” have grounded over 90 per cent of its planes.

"The longer this crisis lasts, the more likely it is that the future of aviation cannot be guaranteed without state aid,” Carsten Spohr said in a statement, adding that 700 of Lufthansa’s 763 aircraft were grounded but that the group was in good financial shape for now. — AFP