IATA director general reports 'encouraging' travel demand despite higher fuel costs and airfares

IATA director general Willie Walsh, speaking at the IATA AGM, stated (07-Jun-2026) "I think it's very encouraging that demand continues to be robust in an environment like this", noting: "The fact that we're still forecasting growth in passenger numbers I think is a positive for the industry". Mr Walsh said: "Obviously the high fuel cost is going to challenge airlines this year", adding: "Everybody will try to recover some, if not all, of the increase in the fuel bill they're seeing, but that will mean higher ticket prices". He continued: "The research that we're doing shows that people are expecting to pay more, I think they understand that the high oil price is going to lead to higher ticket prices". Mr Walsh added: "I think we will see high fuel price structurally now for some time. I don't expect to see a significant reduction in either the crude or the jet prices [and] that's an environment we've been in before so we can cope with that, but for some airlines I think it is going to [result in] significant financial strain".