Staff shortages and inflation are complicating the way out of the crisis for the aviation sector around the world
Tourism is recovering, but the airline industry is still struggling financially due to rising costs and staffing problems following the pandemic. Airlines are posting a loss of about $6.9 billion this year. Despite the high figure, it is a lower amount than expected (9,700 million), although the number of passengers was not as high as expected due to the global economic slowdown caused by the war in Ukraine, as described by IATA in a press conference on Tuesday. in Geneva, where the International Air Transport Association has its headquarters.
The recovery will therefore come in 2023, mainly driven by activity in the United States. The industry’s leading organization estimates that airlines will post a cumulative profit of $4.7 billion by 2023. It should be taken into account that airlines lost 180 billion worldwide in 2020 and 2021 due to the covid and resulting restrictions on traffic between countries.
But not all regions of the world will return to positive territory in 2023, according to IATA. Companies in the United States will close next year with a profit of 11.4 billion, while those in Europe and the Middle East will have a profit of 600 and 300. million respectively. In fact, Latin America’s airlines will continue with losses in 2023 that could reach 800 million, as will those of Africa, which could continue next year with a deficit of about 200 million.
Asia-Pacific companies will also remain in negative territory due to travel restrictions still in place due to the various covid outbreaks in China, the region’s main aviation market. IATA calculates that the losses amount to 6,600 million. China’s active zero covid policy also impacts this year’s passenger traffic estimate, from 82% predicted to 70% of 2019 levels.
In terms of passenger numbers, it is expected that by 2023 the 4,000 million traveler mark will be crossed to around 4,200 million, slightly below the historic record set in 2019 with 4,500 million people traveling by air worldwide.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
