Airlines see Covid setbacks driving them to $48b loss

The airline industry’s chief lobby group widened its estimate for losses this year by about a quarter, saying new Covid-19 flare-ups and mutations have pushed back the timeline for a restart of global air travel. Carriers will lose about $48b in 2021, the IATA said Wednesday. It had earlier forecast a $38b deficit. “This crisis is longer and deeper than anyone could have expected,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general. “Losses will be reduced from 2020, but the pain of the crisis increases.” The downward pivot comes as airlines contend with new travel bans and restrictions arising from outbreaks in large aviation markets such as India and Brazil. Governments of countries that have ramped up vaccinations most quickly have become cautious about restarting travel to prevent the import of new variants that could prove resistant to jabs. After the industry lost about $126b in the teeth of the crisis during 2020, there were high hopes for a rebound in air travel during the first half of this year. IATA now says the crucial summer season is at risk. Demand will reach 43% of 2019 levels during 2021 -- a more optimistic outlook than issued in February, but less bullish than in December, when vaccines were first being rolled out. At that time IATA saw traffic this year recovering to about half of pre-pandemic levels. Industry break even, previously expected in Q4, will now be delayed into 2022.<br/>