Air Industry Recovery Gathering Pace despite Uncertainty: IATA

KOMPAS.com - Air passengers are expected to hit 83 percent of pre-pandemic levels this year and the aviation industry’s return to profit is “within reach” in 2023 despite ongoing uncertainty, the International Air Transport Association said on Monday, June 20.

Industry losses are expected to drop to $9.7 billion this year, a “huge improvement” from $137.7 billion in 2020 and $42.1 billion in 2021, IATA said in an upgraded industry outlook ahead of its annual general meeting in Doha.

“Airlines are resilient. People are flying in ever greater numbers. And cargo is performing well against a backdrop of growing economic uncertainty,” the document quoted IATA director general Willie Walsh as saying.

The aviation industry was sent reeling by the pandemic, with passenger numbers plunging 60 percent in 2020 and the remaining 50 percent down in 2021. Airlines lost nearly $200 billion over two years.

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While some firms in the sector went bankrupt, others -- backed often by states -- have emerged from the pandemic with profits intact.

IATA said industry-wide profitability “appears within reach” in 2023, adding that North American airlines were expected to return an $8.8 billion profit this year.

More than 1,200 aircraft are expected to be delivered in 2022, while cargo volumes should reach a record 68.4 million tonnes “despite economic challenges”, it added.

“Strong pent-up demand, the lifting of travel restrictions in most markets, low unemployment in most countries, and expanded personal savings are fueling a resurgence in demand that will see passenger numbers reach 83 percent of pre-pandemic levels in 2022,” IATA said.

Airlines, desperate to put the coronavirus pandemic behind them, go into the talks in Doha ahead of a potential summer of chaos with shortages and strikes that could threaten their recovery.