Airlines
IATA Sees ‘Bleak’ Prospects for Air Transport Amid Quarantines
International Air Transport Association director general Alexandre de Juniac calls on governments to give up aspirations for a ‘zero Covid world.’

The International Air Transport Association’s persistent calls for a Covid-19 testing regime to replace quarantine requirements have gone unanswered by governments, prompting IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac to characterize near-term prospects as “bleak” and IATA chief economist Brian Pearce to expect more airline bankruptcies during the first half of the year. Speaking during the latest of IATA’s series of conference calls on the effects of the pandemic on airlines, de Juniac reiterated calls to governments for a more balanced approach to reopening borders and to give up what he portrayed as aspirations for a “zero-Covid world.”