
IATA, Qatar Airways CEO Warn Of More Bankruptcies, Plea For More Government Aid
KEY POINTS
- At least 485 airplanes have been idled this year
- Qatar Airways, posted an all-time high loss of $1.9 billion for fiscal 2020
- IATA warned that the airline industry will plough through $77 billion in cash in the second half of this year
While more than 40 commercial airliners have already collapsed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, some aviation officials warn more bankruptcies are looming.
Concerned with fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infections around the world, the CEO of Qatar Airways said things will get grimmer for the airline industry.
“The worst is not behind [us],” Akbar Al Baker told CNBC. “There will soon be other bailouts in Europe, there will be other collapses around the world. Because of the second wave, I think it is … even more severe than in the first wave.”
Data travel company Cirium said that not only have
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Qatar Airways Receives $2 Billion Government Bailout

Qatar Airways crew prepare to enter Sydney international airport to fly a repatriation flight to … [+]
The Qatari government has given a QR7.3 billion ($2 billion) bailout to its loss-making airline Qatar Airways, to help it through the multiple crises it is facing.
It matches the $2 billion in support the Dubai government gave to rival airline Emirates last month to help it weather the shutdown of most international air travel as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Like Emirates, Qatar Airways has had to deal with the healthcare emergency, but on top of that it has faced the ongoing boycott of its home country by neighbours Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE since June 2017. That has forced the airline to cut lucrative routes to those countries