Air France KLM, one of many leading airlines around the world that has been hit hard by the impact of the coronavirus, reported a sharp drop on Thursday in passenger numbers for March, compared to a year earlier.

Air France KLM carried a total of around 3.6 million passengers in March, down 56.6% from a year earlier. Its load factor - which measures the extent to which an airline's planes are full - also fell by 20.5 points from a year ago.

The airline added it was expecting to suspend more than 90% of its planned capacity over the course of April and May as a result of travel restrictions imposed around the world in a bid to thwart the spread of the coronavirus.

The French government has pledged to support Air France KLM.

Earlier this week, French junior transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said a touted figure of EUR 6 billion (US$6.5 billion) in loans to help Air France KLM was "not unrealistic."