Airline industry losses expected to total $201B for 2020-2022: Trade group

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) – Global airline industry losses are estimated to total around $201 billion between 2020-2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a leading trade group.

Net industry losses are expected to reduce to $11.6 billion in 2022, after recording a $51.8 billion loss in 2021, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a statement on Monday.

For 2020, net losses are estimated to read $137.7 billion, it added.

Total passenger numbers are predicted to reach 2.3 billion this year, and later grow to 3.4 billion next year, which is similar to 2014 levels, it said.

However, the projected level for 2022 is still significantly below the 4.5 billion travelers reached in 2019 before the pandemic.

"The magnitude of the COVID-19 crisis for airlines is enormous," IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh said in the statement. "We are well past the deepest point of the crisis.

"The air cargo business is performing well, and domestic travel will near pre-crisis levels in 2022. The challenge is international markets which remain severely depressed as government-imposed restrictions continue," he added.

Walsh said governments' priorities should be re-establishing the 11.3 million jobs in the aviation industry and the $3.5 trillion of GDP associated with travel and tourism that were realized before the pandemic.