Airline consolidation set back five years, IATA chief says

The large-scale government intervention in airlines triggered by the coronavirus crisis will hold back sector consolidation for up to five years, the head of global industry body IATA predicted on Wednesday. Alexandre de Juniac, the IATA’s outgoing director general, made the comments as the organisation called for a new round of subsidies to weather the COVID-19 pandemic. “Governments have taken big stakes in many of their national airlines, so it will be difficult for them to sell this asset to any foreign actor and explain that to the taxpayer,” De Juniac said. “It will be a factor that will prevent consolidation in the coming three to five years.” Airline tie-ups already faced obstacles before the crisis, including ownership rules linked to bilateral aviation treaties. That has not prevented the emergence of multinationals such as IAG, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM that preserve national carriers within their group structures.<br/>