Air industry could fly back into black next year, IATA says
Global air transport is on course to return to profit after two pandemic-battered years but the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis lurk as threats, the industry's world body said.
Renewed profitability "appears within reach" in 2023, the International Air Transport Association said, predicting a rebound in passenger levels to 83 percent of pre-pandemic levels this year.
Industry losses are expected to drop to $9.7 billion in 2022, a "huge improvement" from $137.7 billion in 2020 and $42.1 billion in 2021, IATA said in an upgraded industry outlook at its annual general meeting in Doha.
"Airlines are resilient. People are flying in ever greater numbers. And cargo is performing well against a backdrop of growing economic uncertainty," IATA director general Willie Walsh said.
The air industry was sent reeling by the pandemic, with passenger numbers plunging 60 percent in 2020 and remaining 50 percent down in 2021. Airlines lost nearly $200 billion over two years.
IATA said there were positive signs in the latest figures, with North American carriers expected to return an $8.8 billion profit this year.
More than 1,200 aircraft are expected to be delivered in 2022.
