CAIRO  - EgyptAir will pay 75% of its flying crews salaries in Egyptian pound and the remaining 25% in U.S. dollar "temporarily" due to the impact of coronavirus crisis, the state news agency MENA reported on Wednesday.

Roshdy Zakaria, chairman of Egypt's national carrier, told employees in a message on Tuesday evening that "the decision came on a temporary basis until conditions improve and for the company to be able to pay its dues and loans... in foreign currency," the agency added.

EgyptAir has been paying its pilots and air hosts in U.S. dollars. The report did not mention how much their monthly wage bill totals.

Earlier this month, Egyptian government said it would lend EgyptAir 2 billion Egyptian pounds ($126.66 million) due to the impact of the coronavirus on its operations. 

A member of the Star Alliance led by Germany's Lufthansa, EgyptAir halted regular international flights on March 19 when the government closed the country's airports to combat the spread of the virus.

($1 = 15.7900 Egyptian pounds)

(Reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Abdel Nasser Aboulfadl, writing by Mahmoud Mourad, editing by Pritha Sarkar) ((mahmoud.mourad@thomsonreuters.com;))