IATA estimates 47% drop in passenger numbers in India in ’20

International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents major world airlines, has estimated that India’s domestic and international passenger traffic will

International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents major world airlines, has estimated that India’s domestic and international passenger traffic will decline by 47% in 2020 as compared to 2019. IATA said that Indian aviation and related sectors like tourism will suffer 2.93 million job losses, with the number of annual passengers falling to 89.7 million.

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The latest estimates from IATA indicate a worsening of the country’s impact from the Covid-19 crisis in the Asia Pacific region. Airlines in the Asia Pacific region will see the largest revenue drop of US$113 billion in 2020 compared to 2019, and a 50% fall in passenger demand in 2020 compared to 2019.

Conrad Clifford, IATA’s regional vice president (Asia-Pacific) identified India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, and Thailand as priority countries that need to take action. “The situation is deteriorating and airlines are in survival mode. There will be more casualties if governments do not step in urgently to ensure airlines have sufficient cash flow to tide them over this period,” he said.

“Providing support for airlines has a broader economic implication. Jobs across many sectors will be impacted if airlines do not survive the Covid-19 crisis. In Asia-Pacific, 11.2 million jobs are at risk, including those that are dependent on the aviation industry, such as travel and tourism,” Clifford added.