The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicted on Tuesday that airlines could lose $84 billion as the coronavirus pandemic cuts their income by 50% to set it as the worst year in the history of this industry.
IATA said revenues are expected to fall to $419 billion from $838 billion last year, given that most airlines are parked around the world.
As traffic battles to recover and airlines cut business fares, for 2021, it warns of losses of up to $100 billion.
Airlines are counting the cost of weeks of lost business, a debt pile swollen by bailouts, and a declining demand outlook.
This year the number of passengers has fallen by more than 25 percent below 2019 levels to 2,25 billion by 2020, before rising to 3,38 billion by 2021.
This year’s rate of yield, the proxy for fares, is down 18%, contributing to the decrease of $241 billion in passenger income.
Cargo, a relatively small part of the company, gave relief, as grounds for the massive aircraft drove prices expected to climb to 30 percent, said IATA which contributed almost 111 billion dollars in revenue.
Airlines also face a patchwork of travel constraints and mistrustful customers in countries where infection rates of COVID-19 have fallen dramatically.
