IATA reduces global air traffic outlook as coronavirus crisis drags on

Global airlines reduced their 2020 traffic forecast on Tuesday, after a small summer rebound evaporated amid renewed coronavirus outbreaks and travel restrictions.

Full-year passenger traffic is set to decline 66%, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said, compared with a previously forecast 63% decline.

“The improvement that we saw in the summer months has more or less stopped,” IATA Chief Economist Brian Pearce said.

August traffic was down 75.3% in terms that reflect passenger numbers as well as distance flown, compared with a 79.5% drop in July.

Airlines are pressing governments to abandon quarantines and other travel curbs blamed for worsening the slump, and instead roll-out rapid Covid-19 testing at airports.