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KUALA LUMPUR: Airlines face a real risk of bankruptcy if they do not receive direct financial support from the government, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific Conrad Clifford said the global aviation industry, including Malaysia’s, was in dire straits, but financial aid measures could help keep airlines and avoid losses. massive jobs supported by the sector.
He said costs such as airport taxes, air navigation service provider charges and fuel fees throughout the supply chain must be kept low for airlines to achieve full growth potential.
“We call on governments to step in because there is a real risk that airlines, particularly small and medium-sized ones, will fail as we move into 2021.
“We need direct assistance to carriers as quickly as possible,” he told a news conference on the impact of the pandemic on the aviation sector in the Asia-Pacific region today.
Clifford said an airline consolidation within the same country was more likely to occur compared to a cross-border consolidation due to differences in rules and regulations.
Meanwhile, IATA’s regional director of airports and external relations for Asia-Pacific, Vinoop Goel, said that the net losses of Asia-Pacific airlines were expected to fall to 7.5 billion dollars (30.6 billion ringgit) compared to to $ 31.7 billion estimated for this year.
He said that although there would be some growth in passenger numbers, the recovery in 2021 could not compensate for the reduction in 2020.
Short- and medium-haul markets with routes of less than 5,500 km would recover faster compared to long-haul routes, he said, adding that reopening the border with testing rather than quarantine would be the key to enabling travel. .
IATA is a trade association of the world’s airlines.
