Global airlines are losing $418 million a day, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday, urging governments to provide additional aid, Reuters reports.
IATA expects the airlines to report losses of up to $77 billion in the second half of 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) restrictions continue to affect global travels.
Since the pandemic broke out, governments have provided $160 billion to airlines through cash injections, secured loans, wage subsidies and tax cuts.
Without additional government assistance, 4.8 million jobs are at risk of being lost in the aviation industry, IATA warned.
”Financially, 2020 will be the worst year in aviation history” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s DG & CEO said recently. ”By comparison, airlines around the world lost $31 billion in the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. There is no benchmark for the scale of this crisis” he added.
