The airline industry suffered its biggest decline since World War II last year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has revealed.
Passenger numbers fell by 3.5 per cent in 2009, reversing years of constant growth and hastening the demise of several high-profile carriers.
“In terms of demand, 2009 goes into the history books as the worst year the industry has ever seen," Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the IATA, declared.
SkyEurope and Flyglobespan were among the carriers that filed for bankruptcy, while Alitalia had to rely on government assistance and JAL Japan Airlines limped towards its eventual collapse last week.
The downturn also forced British Airways to post record losses of £401 million, with analysts widely expecting the flag carrier to sink even further into the red this financial year. Urgent cost-cutting duly swept across the industry, but Mr Bisignani believes that airlines are not out of the woods yet.
“The industry starts 2010 with some enormous challenges,” he admonished.
Noting that carriers lost $11 billion (£6.8 billion) last year – and look set to lose a further $5.6 billion this year – the IATA chief added: "The worst is behind us, but it is not time to celebrate.”
Nonetheless, the first green shoots of recovery appear to have sprouted. Year-on-year traffic numbers for December pointed to a 1.6 per cent upswing in passengers.
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