Coronavirus Impact: Over 29 Lakh Aviation Jobs In India May Be Hit In 2020 Says IATA

IATA said these estimations are based on a scenario of severe travel restrictions lasting for three months, with a gradual lifting of restrictions in domestic markets, followed by regional and intercontinental

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New Delhi: The Coronavirus pandemic is expected to bring the global aviation industry to a standstill as many as 29.32 lakh jobs are likely to be at risk in India's aviation sector during the year 2020. According to a report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that among the Asia Pacific countries, the Indian aviation sector would be the worst hit in terms of jobs, with a likely impact on 29,32,900 jobs. The report also said that the revenue of the sector in India may fall by $11,221 million this year compared to 2019. Further, the passenger demand is likely to fall by 47 percent in the country, it showed. Conrad Clifford, IATA's Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific, said that airlines in the region face a liquidity crisis with a $61 billion cash burn in the second quarter of 2020. He stated, "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,". Clifford classified India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Thailand as priority countries that need to take action. The industry body expects that due to the COVID-19 crisis global airline passenger revenues would drop by $314 billion in 2020, a 55 percent decline compared to 2019. The airlines in the Asia Pacific will see the largest revenue drop of $113 billion in 2020 compared to 2019. The passenger demand in the region is likely to fall by 50 percent fall it showed. IATA said these estimations are based on a scenario of severe travel restrictions lasting for three months, with a gradual lifting of restrictions in domestic markets, followed by regional and intercontinental. Clifford noted that providing support for airlines has a broader economic implication as jobs across many sectors will be impacted if airlines do not survive the COVID-19 crisis. Every airline job supports another 24 in the travel and tourism value chain, he added. "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. IATA has called for combined measures including direct financial support, loans, loan guarantees, and support for the corporate bond market and tax relief. The commercial flight services in the country persist suspended till May 3 amid the nationwide lockdown to restrain the spread of coronavirus infections.