Global air sector would recover next year after its pandemic crisis

The accumulated cost since 2020 for airlines would exceed $200 billion.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts that the airline sector will recover in 2022 from the crisis caused by the pandemic, although the accumulated cost since 2020 for airlines will exceed $200 billion.

The figure was announced this Monday by the director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Willie Walsh, at the beginning of the 77th IATA general assembly being held this Monday and Tuesday in Boston (USA). with the attendance of hundreds of executives from some of the world's main airlines.

The meeting is the first in-person meeting that IATA, which brings together some 300 international airlines and represent around 80% of the global sector, has held for more than two years.

Walsh today applauded the holding of the general assembly and acknowledged that just a few weeks ago he would have considered it a success if “just two people” had attended the meeting in person.

That air of optimism floated in the rooms of the Boston hotel where the general assembly is being held despite the difficulties that still exist and that the director and other IATA executives took it upon themselves to denounce.

“This general assembly is an early symbol of how we can work, meet, connect, live and travel with Covid-19 in our world. “The resilience of aviation, which has been the hallmark of our sector, is now on display,” Walsh told more than 500 delegates in Boston.

Walsh highlighted that although international passenger traffic is far from the levels that existed before the pandemic, “the recent announcements of the relaxation of border restrictions” should contribute to improving the situation substantially.

In addition, air freight transport is currently 8% higher than before the pandemic appeared.

The positive outlook for airline executives is summarized in the reduction in loss figures.

The IATA director said that in 2021 the losses will be $51.8 billion and by 2022 they will have been reduced to $11.6 billion, while in 2020 the figures amounted to $137.7 billion.

This evolution allowed Walsh to announce that “the worst moment of the crisis has been overcome” and that “although serious problems continue to exist, the path to recovery is in sight.”

But the airline association also made clear that there are many obstacles on the path to normality for a sector that was especially affected by pandemic restrictions.

The IATA director general referred specifically to the situation of international travel, which continues to be seriously affected by government restrictions to contain the pandemic.

“The population has not lost its desire to travel and we see solid resilience in domestic markets. But they are being limited by restrictions on international travel, its uncertainty and complexity,” stated Walsh.

In this sense, Walsh pointed out to questions from Efe during a press conference held today that IATA does not believe any restrictions are necessary for international travelers who have completed the vaccination schedule and only rapid antigen tests for those who are not immunized.

“With the knowledge we have now, which is much greater than when the restrictions were introduced in February 2020, and the fact that the quality of testing has improved significantly, the risk of contracting coronavirus on board an aircraft is extremely low,” he declared.

For his part, the CEO of the airline JetBlue, and president of IATA, Robin Hayes, told Efe that it is necessary for governments to harmonize the measures they adopt and for them to be consistent in all countries.

IATA also warned that rising infrastructure costs for airlines will affect the sector's recovery and "damage international connections."

The association estimated the increase in these costs during the pandemic at $2.3 billion and said that if the proposals for increases from airports and air navigation service providers were accepted, the number would be $23 billion.

Walsh called the $2.3 billion increase in costs during the pandemic “scandalous” and accused the “monopolistic” position of air infrastructure managers of having the ability to “place the financial burden of a crisis of apocalyptic proportions on the airlines.” backs of the clients.”

Also today, IATA approved a resolution committing the sector to achieving zero emissions by 2050, which will mean that aviation will eliminate 21.2 gigatonnes of carbon emissions over the next three decades.

The resolution states that the strategy to achieve the zero emissions goals will be based on the use of sustainable fuels, new aircraft technology, more efficient operations and infrastructure, and the development of zero-emission energy sources, such as electricity and hydrogen.