Airlines and airports globally are calling for fresh government aid package to help in the recovery of the struggling aviation industry.
Aside from additional government aid, airlines and airports around the world are also asking for current quarantine arrangements to be replaced with a new testing regime. They argued that without both, the industry is in the brink of collapse.
Plea for fresh aid
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), airlines globally are expected to report a fall in revenues this year amounting to $418 billion.
Meanwhile, Airport Council International (ACI) World claimed that airports would experience a decline in income of around $104 billion.
IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac pointed out that financial aid packages granted by earlier this year by various governments to their respective aviation businesses were designed on the assumption that by this time, a recovery would be well underway.
De Juniac added that it was not the case currently and that the industry was still suffering deep "financial trauma". He argued: "Without a second tranche of financial aid, many airlines will not survive the winter."
On the other hand, ACI world director general Luis Felipe de Oliveira said that a similar financial pressure is also being experienced by airports. De Oliveira claimed: "We could see airports going bankrupt in a very short period of time."
He explained: "ACI and IATA are aligned in calling for urgent government action to introduce widespread and coordinated testing of passengers to enable quarantine requirements to be removed."
"Without this action, it is not an exaggeration that the industry is facing collapse", he added.
Recent struggles of the airline industry
Aside from the decline in revenues, the IATA projected in June that the airline industry may lose $84 billion in 2020 as air travel dropped by 98% in April compared to last year.
"We think airlines are going to probably lose an unprecedented $84 billion in 2020," Brian Pearce, chief economist for IATA, told CNBC.
"We’re really only just starting to see countries negotiating bilateral openings of markets. For example, the Trans-Tasma bubble between Australia and New Zealand, China and Singapore, as well as China and Korea."
In July, UK flag carrier British Airways announced that it will be retiring all of its Boeing 747 aircraft amidst the dramatic decline in travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
British Airways said it will retire its entire Boeing 747 fleet due to the sharp decline in air travel amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The British airline is the world’s largest operator of the 747 jumbo jets, having 31 aircraft in its fleet.
A spokesman for the airline said: "It is with great sadness that we can confirm we are proposing to retire our entire 747 fleet with immediate effect."
"It is unlikely our magnificent ‘queen of the skies’ will ever operate commercial services for British Airways again due to the downturn in travel caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic," the spokesman continued.
After failed attempts to get additional federal aid, American Airlines announced that it will cut 19,000 jobs while United Airlines will reduce its work force by 13,000 employees.
United Airlines chief executive officer (CEO) Scott Kirby said that the decision on the layoffs represented "a very sad day for all of us here at United."
Earlier, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said he was still hoping for the job cuts to be averted if the firm saw signs that Congress and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would be able to reach an agreement.
In a memo to employees, Parker wrote: "Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that any of these efforts will come to fruition."
