Huge debt remains major challenge for airlines

Doha: The airlines' losses globally are expected to be down from $52 billion in 2021 to $9.7 billion this year and industry-wide profit should be on the horizon in 2023, Director General of IATA Willie Walsh said here on Monday.

International Air Transport Association (IATA) represents some 290 airlines comprising 83 per cent of global air traffic. Walsh, in his inaugural speech at the 78th annual general meeting of IATA here, said that while the outlook for airlines globally is positive, the business environment remains challenging.

Listing all the challenges, he said inflation topped nine per cent in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)- a group of 38 developed countries - in April. "Our outlook expects (global) GDP to grow 3.4 per cent this year. Not bad but down on earlier forecasts," Walsh noted.