The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has written to the heads of government of 18 States in Asia-Pacific to appeal for emergency support to airlines as they fight for survival due to the dramatic loss of air travel demand due to the COVID-19 crisis. These States include Bangladesh, India, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
“Airlines are fighting for survival in every corner of the world. Travel restrictions and evaporating demand mean that, aside from cargo, there is almost no passenger business. For airlines, it’s apocalypse now. And there is a small and shrinking window for governments to provide a lifeline of financial support to prevent a liquidity crisis from shuttering the industry,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s chief executive.
in a matter of days, the crisis facing airlines worsened dramatically. We are 100% behind governments in supporting measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. But we need them to understand that without urgent relief, many airlines will not be around to lead the recovery stage. Failure to act now will make this crisis longer and more painful. Some 2.7 million airline jobs are at risk. And each of those jobs supports a further 24 in the travel and tourism value chain. Some governments are already responding to our urgent calls, but not enough to make up the $200 billion needed,” said de Juniac.
“A growing number of governments in Asia-Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, have announced financial relief packages for the airline industry and we are grateful to them for the assistance rendered during this dark period for the airline industry. But we need more governments to come on board to support the airline industry serving their markets,” said Conrad Clifford, IATA’s regional vice president for Asia Pacific.
IATA estimates that the COVID-19 crisis will reduce passenger demand in Asia-Pacific by 37% this year compared to 2019, with a revenue loss of US$88 billion. This is based on a scenario where severe restrictions on travel are lifted after 3 months, followed by gradual recovery.