Airline Industry Warns of Crisis Bigger Than 9/11 Aftermath

  • Desperate measures needed to cope with virus ‘sledgehammer’
  • Air traffic demand slid 14% in February from a year earlier

March 31: IATA CEO Sees Half of Member Airlines Going Bankrupt Without Government Aid

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Global air traffic demand fell 14% in February, the most since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as airlines were “hit by a sledgehammer called COVID-19,” the International Air Transport Association said.

The decline reflects a record collapse in travel in China that month and a 41% tumble in demand in the Asia-Pacific region, IATA said, warning that the situation has only grown worse.