The world's airlines have lost almost US$222 billion net since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a breakdown of industry finance data by aviation sector analysis group Cirium.
The losses came around the same as Greece's 2022 gross domestic product (GDP), as estimated by the International Monetary Fund.
Cirium said airline revenues were halved in 2020 and ended 2021 at around 40% below pre-pandemic levels. Most of the net losses came in 2020 after governments imposed strict travel curbs and border controls in March that year.
Some US$42 billion was lost by the sector in 2021, with a further US$15 billion shed in the first half of this year, by which time most countries had lifted most of their travel curbs.
The second half of 2022 saw the sector recovering strongly, though it remained largely below 2019. "If we assume that there are no further shocks to the industry, there is the possibility that the industry may break even in the second half of the year, led by US and European airline groups," said Jeremy Bowen, chief executive of Cirium.
The "strongest progress" this year was among North American airlines, Cirium reported, which had mostly recovered to their pre-Covid level, with Europe slightly behind.
The prospects for Asia were less clear, the data suggested. Cirium said the region"has struggled", pinning the blame on "China’s continued Covid-19 lockdowns".
The Cirium analysis was based on World Airline Group Finance Rankings.