IATA's Walsh says airline industry will be smaller after crisis

The head of global airline body IATA expects the industry to emerge from the coronavirus crisis smaller and more cautious, doubting airlines will try to expand through acquisitions. The airline industry has been crippled by the pandemic, which continues to leave many aircraft around the world grounded or flying near-empty as demand limps towards a recovery. “It will be a smaller industry. We are not going to recover all the capacity,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh said in a pre-recorded online interview broadcast on Monday. He cited the swathes of aircraft retired and employees laid off or placed on furlough. “It will be a more cautious industry. I don’t expect to see M&A (merger and acquisition) activity, principally because people will be guarded about the cash they have.” Walsh said that spending “valuable cash resources” would be “too risky” but he believes there will be consolidation through airlines shrinking their operations and some failing.<br/>