Coronavirus could cost airlines US$113 billion in lost revenue, International Air Transport Association warns
- World’s carriers stand to lose US$63 billion even if there is a sharp downturn in Covid-19 cases in affected jurisdictions, analysis predicts
- Governments need to intervene to save air travel industry in ‘extraordinary times’, IATA chief says
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released an updated economic impact assessment of the coronavirus on Thursday that dwarfed its US$29.3 billion estimate on February 20, as the sector faced a growing black hole in its finances.
Governments around the world are grappling with a pandemic that has so far hit China, South Korea, Iran and Italy the hardest and threatens to accelerate the global economic slowdown.
The IATA analysis has found airlines across the world could lose between US$63 billion to US$113 billion in revenue depending on the severity of the health crisis.
The Asia-Pacific region stands to lose close to US$58 billion and its main aviation markets, including China, Australia, Singapore, Japan and South Korea, could see a 23 per cent fall in passenger numbers under the assessment’s worst case scenario, which foresees a wider spread of the virus. China alone would lose US$22 billion in that event.