Egypt announced that it is reopening airports to resume regular commercial flight operations with easing of lockdown. In fact, it is the latest country to start flight operations on the back of the protracted pandemic, media reports said.
In March, passenger flights were suspended in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The country is also expected to increase freight capacity across the national and regional markets.
Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO, told the media, “Financially, 2020 will go down as the worst year in the history of aviation. On average, every day of this year will add $230 million to industry losses. In total that’s a loss of $84.3 billion.”
IATA estimates airlines to lose $84.3 billion in 2020 for a net profit margin of -20.1 percent. That said, losses are expected to reduce to $15.8 billion as revenues might rise to $598 billion, indicating a positive outlook for the global aviation industry.
“Competition among airlines [in 2021] will no doubt be even more intense. That will translate into strong incentives for travelers to take to the skies again. The challenge for 2022 will be turning reduced losses of 2021 into the profits that airlines will need to pay off their debts from this terrible crisis,” de Juniac added.