Speaking at the Iata annual general meeting in Doha, Willie Walsh said latest analysis showed global airline industry losses in 2021 close to $42 billion, down from an earlier estimate of $52 billion. 

He added: “And we now believe that global losses will be cut further, to $9.7 billion this year. Industry-wide profit should be on the horizon in 2023.”

Iata predicts industry revenues will reach $782 billion this year, 93% of 2019 levels. Of this, $498 billion will come from passenger revenue. Flights operated in 2022 are expected to total 33.8 million, almost 87% of 2019 levels.

However, Walsh said fixing “battered balance sheets carrying debts of $650 billion will be a monumental challenge”, adding: “There is no way to sugar-coat the bitter economic and political realities we face. But the desire to travel and the necessity of moving goods are both solid.”

He blasted governments for closing borders during the pandemic.

“They did not consult with the industry. They did not follow the advice of WHO [World Health Organization]. Yes, decisions were based on science, but it was political science, not medical or data science,” he said.

He said analysis had shown border closures “may have delayed infection peaks by just a few days”.  

“There was one virus, but each government invented its own methodology to control what travel remained possible. How can anybody have confidence in such a shambolic, uncoordinated and knee-jerk response by governments? 

“Governments had no plan and worked in isolation. They made things up day by day, and in some cases did complete U-turns – the worst being the panicked over-reaction to Omicron. This unpredictability made the restart much more difficult.

“It’s no wonder there are operational challenges for some airlines and at some airports today.”