Airline losses from COVID to exceed US$200B, industry says

Airline losses from the coronavirus pandemic are set to surpass US$200 billion as travel curbs weigh on corporate and long-haul demand well into 2022, according to the industry’s main lobby.

Airline losses from the coronavirus pandemic are set to surpass US$200 billion as travel curbs weigh on corporate and long-haul demand well into 2022, according to the industry’s main lobby.

Carriers are poised to post a collective deficit of US$11.6 billion next year, the International Air Transport Association said Monday in Boston at its annual meeting. The trade body also increased its loss estimate for this year, and revised upward the shortfall for 2020.

The combined US$201 billion in net losses over the pandemic-blighted period eclipses close to nine years of industry earnings, based on IATA figures. While domestic and regional travel have begun to rebound, there’s been little recovery in the globe-spanning business routes so crucial to many carriers. 

The U.S. is poised to open its borders to trans-Atlantic visitors next month, but other long-haul markets remain in the doldrums, especially those connecting Asia with Europe and North America.

“The magnitude of the COVID-19 crisis for airlines is enormous,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh told the largest gathering of chief executives officers from the industry in more than two years. “People have not lost their desire to travel as we see in solid domestic market resilience. But they are being held back from international travel by restrictions, uncertainty and complexity.”