Airlines off to ‘tragic and challenging 2020’

MANILA, Philippines — The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the aviation industry is off to a “tragic and challenging 2020” after facing a difficult year in 2019.

IATA cited the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS 752 in January and the PC2193 accident in Turkey the other day as among the tragic incidents that have occurred so far this year.

Meanwhile, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus is seen posing a big challenge for the aviation industry.

“From our experience of past outbreaks, airlines have well-developed standards and best practices to keep travel safe. And airlines are assisting the World Health Organization (WHO) and public health authorities in efforts to contain the outbreak in line with the International Health Regulations,” IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said.

“There currently is no advice from WHO to restrict travel or trade. But it is clear that demand has fallen on routes associated with China, and airlines are responding to this by cutting capacity for both domestic and international China. The situation is evolving fast, but we are observing significant schedules adjustments for February,” de Juniac said.

IATA reported yesterday that global passenger traffic in 2019 rose by 4.2 percent from the previous year.

It said last year’s growth was slower than 2018’s annual growth of 7.3 percent and it likewise marked the first year since the global financial crisis in 2009 in which passenger demand has fallen below the long-term trend of around 5.5 percent annual growth.

Among Asia-Pacific airlines, full-year traffic increased 4.5 percent last year, a large decline compared to 8.5 percent growth in 2018.

IATA said this reflected the impact of the US-China trade war as well as weakening business confidence and economic activity.

“Airlines did well to maintain steady growth last year in the face of a number of challenges. A softer economic backdrop, weak global trade activity, and political and geopolitical tensions took their toll on demand,” de Juniac said.

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said earlier that the region’s airlines will be up for another challenging year on the back of global economic and trade uncertainties coupled with a new coronavirus outbreak.

In the Philippines, flag carrier Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, and AirAsia have canceled their flights to mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau in compliance with the travel ban imposed by the government.