The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects airlines to return to profits next year for the first time since 2019 before the “Covid-19” epidemic caused disruptions in the travel sector.
According to the association, airlines lost tens of billions of dollars in 2020 and 2021 due to the "pandemic", but air travel is witnessing a somewhat recovery that some airports find it difficult to keep up with.
The association reduced its forecast for sector losses in 2022 to $6.9 billion from $9.7 billion, expecting airlines to make profits of $4.7 billion in 2023. The figure is still far below the $26.4 billion profits the sector recorded in 2019 before “COVID-19” prompted countries to impose travel restrictions.
"Resilience was the hallmark of airlines in the Corona crisis, while we look forward to a financial recovery taking shape in 2023, with the first profits achieved by the sector since 2019," said Willie Walsh, IATA Director General.
Walsh predicted that airlines would achieve revenues of $779 billion in 2023, "as many airlines make enough profits to attract capital as the sector seeks to decarbonize its operations."
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
