Deep losses for Middle East carriers to continue in 2021: IATA | ZAWYA MENA Edition
Airlines in the Middle East will see an improvement in business next year after a difficult period in 2020, but they will continue to burn through cash, with estimated losses in the industry expected to reach $3.3 billion, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The projected losses in 2021 will be nearly half this year’s revenue drop of $7.1 billion, which is still a “worrisome” picture for a region that is largely dependent on revenues from the tourism and air transport sectors, which both contribute $13 billion to the gross domestic product (GDP) and support 3.4 million jobs, said Muhammad Ali Albakri, IATA regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East.
“The forecast for 2021 is not that much better, but it is better than 2020. However, it's still in the negative territory in terms of passenger traffic and revenues,” Albakri said in a media briefing on Wednesday.
According to Albakri, the current landscape in the Middle East’s air travel industry is worrisome. He noted that prior to the crisis, airlines in the region were witnessing double-digit growth, while aviation hubs served a record number of destinations, with city pairs accounting for 1,060 as of April 2019.
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