IATA urges Canada Govt to provide airlines with financial aid

IATA urged (01-May-2020) Canada's Government to provide financial support to airlines during the coronavirus crisis. "Passenger traffic has virtually stopped, and cash flows are almost non-existent", stated IATA regional VP for the Americas Peter Cerdá, adding: "Government support is needed now to ensure that Canada has a viable airline industry to lead the economic recovery". Canada's air transport sector supports approximately 633,000 jobs and supplies CAD68.1 billion (USD48.3 billion) in GDP, including foreign tourist spending, or 3.2% of the country's GDP. IATA estimates revenues generated by airlines within Canada will drop 43.2%, putting nearly 250,000 jobs and CAD25.4 billion (USD18 billion) of GDP at risk. "Globally, the industry could suffer a liquidity crisis of up to CAD84.7 billion (USD60 billion) in the second quarter as demand plummets by 80% or more", warned Mr Cerdá. [more - original PR]