Alexandre de Juniac, head of IATA, warns that the airlines are running out of money. The states urgently need help.

Just a few weeks ago, the world aviation association IATA suspected something bad. There is not enough money and help is needed - the state in particular has to step in and keep the aviation industry alive. Now things turned out differently: "Although we saw a few companies go down the drain, there were only a handful," said Brian Pearce, chief economist of the association.

An estimated 123 billion US dollars flowed to ailing carriers. But not all could be saved because state aid was distributed extremely unevenly. "It is noticeable that there is less help in developing countries," said Pearce. Most of the estimated $ 123 billion would go to airlines in North America and Europe - more than 30 percent. Compared to these values, the share granted in countries such as Brazil, Mexico or South Africa would be less than one percent. This would make it even more difficult for the companies there, which are already weakened, to keep up with the competition or even to stay afloat, as one would see in the example of Thai Airways. 

The fact that more than half of the aid would generate additional liabilities also raised eyebrows. This is a criticism of the type of help. 67 billion US dollars alone, which were unlocked due to the crisis, would only increase the mountain of debt with the airlines, which would later have to repay these loans at a higher interest rate. Since a recovery in the industry is not to be expected so quickly, that would represent an enormous burden. Especially since the flight offer has to be adjusted downwards due to the falling demand and only a few can keep their equity ratio at a "healthy" level. In any case, airlines are fraught with enormous debts - at the end of 2019 this was still 430 billion US dollars. That figure is estimated to rise by $ 120 billion this year - and bring many to their knees.

IATA General Director Alexandre de Juniac is happy about the state aid. But he also finds words of caution: "Governments must be aware that this type of state aid will have far-reaching consequences." This only prolongs the crisis and makes it even more burdensome than it already is. He also criticizes the national confusion and appeals to act more uniformly.

With this in mind, IATA is currently working on guidelines that should ensure safe flying despite Corona.