(Yicai  Global) March 19 -- Shares of China Southern Airlines have tumbled to  the lowest in more than five years today after the Chinese aviation firm  reported falling passenger volumes amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

China  Southern's Hong Kong-listed shares [HK: 1055] dropped 12.4 percent to  HKD2.96 (US 38 cents) this morning. The company's New York-listed shares  [NYSE: ZNH] slumped 11.3 percent to USD20.07 yesterday. Both of the  prices are the lowest since November 2014.

China  Southern Airlines's passenger turnover dropped 85 percent in February  from a year ago, the Guangzhou-based aviation firm said in a filing to  the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing  yesterday. The company's passenger  load factor was 47 percent, a 38 percentage point decrease from a year  earlier. Its cargo volume declined by 60 percent.

During  the first two months of this year, the airline's passenger turnover  slid 44 percent from a year ago. Its passenger load factor was 71  percent, a 12 percentage point decrease. Freight volume fell by 18  percent.

Editor: Emmi Laine