<p> Global airlines have revised traffic forecasts lower, sector federation IATA said Tuesday, warning that hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk without more state aid.</p>.<p>The International Air Transport Association downgraded its 2020 traffic forecast following a "dismal end to the summer travel season" in the northern hemisphere and now expects it to be 66 percent below the level in 2019, a statement said.</p>.<p>IATA's previous forecast was for a drop of 63 per cent, but that was before the government reimposed travel restrictions in August and the outlook faltered for the rest of the year, it added.</p>.<p>The association, which represents 290 airlines, said that August traffic, which it measures in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs, plunged by 75.3 percent from the same period in 2019.</p>.<p>A resurgence in coronavirus cases since then and more government restrictions to deal with them has prevented a strong rebound.</p>.<p>"A much slower improvement is now expected," the statement added.</p>.<p>"Absent additional government relief measures and reopening of borders, hundreds of thousands of airline jobs will disappear," said chief executive Alexandre de Juniac.</p>.<p>He called for an international programme of Covid-19 tests prior to a flight's departure to give governments the confidence to open borders and passengers' confidence to board planes again.</p>.<p>A breakdown of the industry data indicated that domestic flights were attracting more passengers than international services, though, in countries such as Australia and Japan, even domestic flights were way down.</p>.<p>The IATA has estimated that global traffic will not reach pre-pandemic levels before 2024 and that the sector will earn $419 million less this year owing to the pandemic.</p>
<p> Global airlines have revised traffic forecasts lower, sector federation IATA said Tuesday, warning that hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk without more state aid.</p>.<p>The International Air Transport Association downgraded its 2020 traffic forecast following a "dismal end to the summer travel season" in the northern hemisphere and now expects it to be 66 percent below the level in 2019, a statement said.</p>.<p>IATA's previous forecast was for a drop of 63 per cent, but that was before the government reimposed travel restrictions in August and the outlook faltered for the rest of the year, it added.</p>.<p>The association, which represents 290 airlines, said that August traffic, which it measures in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs, plunged by 75.3 percent from the same period in 2019.</p>.<p>A resurgence in coronavirus cases since then and more government restrictions to deal with them has prevented a strong rebound.</p>.<p>"A much slower improvement is now expected," the statement added.</p>.<p>"Absent additional government relief measures and reopening of borders, hundreds of thousands of airline jobs will disappear," said chief executive Alexandre de Juniac.</p>.<p>He called for an international programme of Covid-19 tests prior to a flight's departure to give governments the confidence to open borders and passengers' confidence to board planes again.</p>.<p>A breakdown of the industry data indicated that domestic flights were attracting more passengers than international services, though, in countries such as Australia and Japan, even domestic flights were way down.</p>.<p>The IATA has estimated that global traffic will not reach pre-pandemic levels before 2024 and that the sector will earn $419 million less this year owing to the pandemic.</p>