Airlines risk missing out on bulk of annual earnings

The latest setbacks to the return of air travel are stoking concern that a cash crunch is about to bear down on the airline industry.

A second summer lost to the coronavirus crisis would likely trigger a spate of airline failures and bankruptcy filings, alongside a repeat of 2020’s bailouts, job cuts, and jetliner deferrals and cancellations, according to consultants IBA Group.

In just the past week, the optimism that took the Bloomberg World Airlines Index to the highest since the start of the pandemic has evaporated.

TUI AG, the world’s biggest tour operator, scaled back its summer schedule to reflect a peak season that won’t start until July, at least two months later than normal.