An Ethiopian plane burst into flames on the Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Wednesday.
The fire reportedly began in the main cargo deck, according to a report published by News 18.
WATCH:
#Breaking a Ethiopian Airlines 777F caught on fire at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The fire seem to originate from the main cargo deck and has burn thru the upper fuselage. #AvGeek pic.twitter.com/rSEeRZWgTX
— FATIII Aviation (@FATIIIAviation) July 22, 2020
Videos of the fire have circulated through Chinese social media.
The airline has made the switch from transporting people to transporting cargo amid the coronavirus pandemic. The switch reportedly has helped the airline “maintain half of its income while 90 per cent of the passenger fleet is grounded,” according to News 18. (RELATED: REPORT: Airlines Will Lose $100 Billion Due To Coronavirus)
Ethiopian Airlines converted 25 passenger planes to cargo planes which has allowed them to expand its destinations from 10 to 70, News 18 reported.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has claimed that transporting cargo will make up 26% of airline revenue in 2020 as compared to the 12% in 2019, according to the outlet.
“Financially, 2020 will go down as the worst year in the history of aviation,” IATA’s Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said. “On average, every day of this year will add $230 million to industry losses. In total that’s a loss of $84.3 billion. It means that—based on an estimate of 2.2 billion passengers this year—airlines will lose $37.54 per passenger. That’s why government financial relief was and remains crucial as airlines burn through cash.”