<p>Airbus on Wednesday said January-June plane deliveries slumped by half to 196 aircraft compared with the first six months of 2019, highlighting the impact of the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_blank">coronavirus </a>crisis.</p>.<p>For the second consecutive month, there were no new orders in June, the planemaker added, though it did record 36 deliveries, up from 24 in May and 14 in April.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-news-live-updates-over-359-lakh-have-recovered-from-covid-19-so-far-indias-tally-spikes-over-606-lakh-toll-at-17852-856206.html#1" target="_blank"><strong>For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here</strong></a></p>.<p>In the first half of 2019, Airbus made 389 deliveries -- a closely-tracked variable because clients pay most of the cost when they receive the planes.</p>.<p>The Covid-19 pandemic has hammered the aviation sector with border closures preventing deliveries and a slump in traffic leaving most carriers strapped for cash.</p>.<p>Fleets of planes have been parked at airports worldwide, and analysts forecast that air traffic will not return to 2019 levels before 2023.</p>.<p>Airbus registered 298 net orders in the first half of 2020, all signed before the end of April.</p>.<p>That is about a quarter less than last year's 389 orders over the same period.</p>.<p>Airbus estimated last month that production and deliveries would be 40 percent lower than originally forecast for the next two years and said it would have to shed 15,000 jobs.</p>
<p>Airbus on Wednesday said January-June plane deliveries slumped by half to 196 aircraft compared with the first six months of 2019, highlighting the impact of the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_blank">coronavirus </a>crisis.</p>.<p>For the second consecutive month, there were no new orders in June, the planemaker added, though it did record 36 deliveries, up from 24 in May and 14 in April.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-news-live-updates-over-359-lakh-have-recovered-from-covid-19-so-far-indias-tally-spikes-over-606-lakh-toll-at-17852-856206.html#1" target="_blank"><strong>For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here</strong></a></p>.<p>In the first half of 2019, Airbus made 389 deliveries -- a closely-tracked variable because clients pay most of the cost when they receive the planes.</p>.<p>The Covid-19 pandemic has hammered the aviation sector with border closures preventing deliveries and a slump in traffic leaving most carriers strapped for cash.</p>.<p>Fleets of planes have been parked at airports worldwide, and analysts forecast that air traffic will not return to 2019 levels before 2023.</p>.<p>Airbus registered 298 net orders in the first half of 2020, all signed before the end of April.</p>.<p>That is about a quarter less than last year's 389 orders over the same period.</p>.<p>Airbus estimated last month that production and deliveries would be 40 percent lower than originally forecast for the next two years and said it would have to shed 15,000 jobs.</p>