Asiana Airlines has posted an operating loss of 208-point-two billion won in the first quarter. 

The loss, revealed by South Korea’s second-largest carrier in a regulatory filing on Friday, widened from the 11-point-eight billion won loss in the same quarter last year. 

The company’s revenues also plunged 21-point-five percent on-year to nearly one-point-13 trillion won while its net loss grew to 549 billion won from 84-point-three billion won. 

A sharp decline in demand from February following coronavirus-related travel restrictions on South Koreans by a growing number of countries was partly attributed to the company's performance. The company has also been struggling with years of mounting debt.

A local consortium of HDC Hyundai Development Company and Mirae Asset Daewoo signed a deal last December to acquire the airline for two-point-five trillion won. However, there's speculation the deal may not go as planned amid dismal prospects for the airline industry amid the protracted COVID-19 pandemic. 

Asiana said it will put into place a more stringent emergency management regime to overcome the crisis, including putting its entire workforce on unpaid leave for a set period of days every month until business normalizes.