Coronavirus crisis would result in the Indian aviation sector being the worst among the Asia Pacific countries, which may impact as many as 29,32,900 jobs.

Compared to 2019, the revenue of this sector in India is likely to fall by $11,221 million this year. The passenger demand may fall by 47 per cent in India.

According to Conrad Clifford, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific, in the second quarter of 2020, airlines in the region face a liquidity crisis with a $61 billion cash burn.

‘We have seen the first airline casualty in the region. 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,’ The Free Press Journal quoted him as saying.

He said that countries that should take action on priority are India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The industry body thinks it is likely that airline passenger revenues would drop by $314 billion in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis, which is a 55 per cent decline compared to 2019.

IATA said that all these estimates are based on a scenario of various travel restrictions lasting for three months. They are also calculated based on the restrictions being gradually lifted in domestic markets, followed by regional and intercontinental.

‘In Asia-Pacific, 11.2 million jobs are at risk, including those that are dependent on the aviation industry, such as travel and tourism,’ said Clifford.

Combined measures have been called for by IATA, including direct financial support, loans, loan guarantees and support for the corporate bond market and tax relief.

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