Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (June 16): The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on governments around the world to continue providing relief measures to airlines — which are expected to post a loss of US$84.3 billion this year — as the Covid-19 crisis continues.

"The bulk of airlines make their money in the northern summer season, while the winter season (starting in the fourth quarter of 2020), even in the best of times, is a struggle to remain profitable," the airline grouping said in a statement today.

According to IATA, public opinion research in the first week of June showed greater caution among travellers in returning to travel. Only 45% of travellers surveyed intended to return to the skies within a few months of the pandemic subsiding. A further 36% said they would wait six months.

"That is a significant shift from its April survey when 61% said that they would return to travel within a few months of the pandemic subsiding and 21% responded that they would wait about six months."

The trade body also revealed that overall bookings are down 82% year-on-year in June. Additionally, long-haul forward bookings for the first week in November this year are 59% below normal levels.

It noted that passengers are also booking closer to the time of travel. "Bookings for travel 20 or more days in the future accounted for 29% of bookings made in May, down from 49% in 2019. Similarly, 41% of bookings made in May 2020 were for travel within three days, more than double the 18% in May 2019."

"People are returning to the skies but the horizon of uncertainty of the Covid-19 crisis is extending. Forward bookings are down, and people are hedging their travel bets by booking closer to the time of travel," said IATA director-general and chief executive officer Alexandre de Juniac.

"Airlines in the northern hemisphere rely on a strong summer season and a predictable booking curve to get them through the lean months. But neither of these conditions are in place and airlines will need continued help from governments to survive a hard winter. Airlines will need much more flexibility to plan schedules around these changing consumer trends. Financial and operational flexibility equals survival," he added.

"Each day sees more people travelling. The numbers are moving in the right direction, but we are by no means anywhere near normal or sustainable levels of activity.

"Financial relief measures are still desperately needed. And policy-relief measures like a slot-usage waiver remain critical. Governments need to grant that by no later than the end of July to provide at least that certainty for this beleaguered and battered industry," said de Juniac.

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