KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - June 08, 2009 - The world's airlines are expected to lose $9 billion USD this year, industry body IATA said today, describing the current crisis as worse than the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001.
The losses - almost double an estimate made just three months ago - will come on the back of an estimated $80 billion USD drop in carriers' 2009 revenues due to plunging passenger and freight demand despite lower fuel costs.
"There is no modern precedent for today's economic meltdown. The ground has shifted. Our industry has been shaken," said Giovanni Bisignani, director-general of the International Air Transport Association.
Carriers in all regions are expect to report losses in 2009, with Asia-Pacific Airlines - once the brightest spot of the industry - accounting for more than a third of the global total at $3.3 billion USD.
"This is the most difficult situation that the industry has faced," Bisignani said in a speech to industry leaders at the 65th IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Kuala Lumpur.