(Yicai  Global) March 19 -- Air China's stock price plunged to the lowest in  almost four years today after the flag carrier posted sharply declining  passenger volume figures, clearly influenced by the Covid-19 outbreak.

The  airline's Shanghai-listed equity [SH: 601111] lost 5.6 percent of its  value to CNY6.59 (US 93 cents) apiece, the worst since June 2016. Its  Hong Kong-listed shares [HK: 753] fell by 10 percent to HKD5.24 (US 67  cents). That's the weakest since February 2017.

Air  China's passenger turnover dropped 81 percent in February from a year  ago, the Beijing-based aviation firm said in a filing to the Shanghai  Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing yesterday. Its  passenger load factor was 51 percent, a 33 percentage point decrease  from a year earlier. Its cargo volume declined by 55 percent.

During  the first two months of this year, the airline's passenger turnover  fell 41 percent from a year ago. Its passenger load factor was 71  percent, an 11 percentage point decline. Freight volume edged down by 31  percent.

Editor: Emmi Laine