Flight to safety: How regional airlines are trying to stay aloft amid Covid-19 pandemic

The forecast a year ago was for the Asia-Pacific to continue to benefit from an aviation boom. Hirings were in full swing, with some airlines dangling attractive salaries and perks to woo pilots. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing projected that the region would need an additional 266,000 pilots over the next 20 years. Then, the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Airlines grounded their planes and pilots are now housebound. The global aviation industry shed more than 350,000 jobs in the past six months, and there is little sign the industry will return to former heights any time soon. The situation looks set to be even more grim. The IATA has forecast that travel demand will not return to last year's levels until 2024. The Air Transport Action Group, a coalition of industry experts, foresees 46m aviation-related jobs at risk globally. IATA said Asia-Pacific airlines would lose US$29b this year, with August traffic sinking 95.9% compared with a year earlier. "The Asia-Pacific was the first region exposed to the weakness coming from the disease outbreak, and their losses will be larger compared with other regions as current demand recovery is not coming with profitability," IATA said in its report in June. Singapore's Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung has said that the global aviation industry will take at least two years to recover from the pandemic.<br/>