No relief in sight for global airlines

Airline passenger numbers remained low in September as rising coronavirus cases in Europe and the United States kept travel demand subdued, data from the International Air Transport Association, or IATA, shows.

The trade association for the world's airlines said total demand was 72.8 percent below September 2019 levels, which was only slightly better than the 75.2 percent year-on-year decline recorded in August.

According to the IATA, international passenger demand for the year ending September plunged by 88.8 percent in comparison with the previous year.

Demand for domestic flights improved from the 50.7 percent decline recorded in August, but was still poor, at 43.3 percent compared with September 2019.

Alexandre de Juniac, the association's director-general and CEO, said: "We have hit a wall in the industry's recovery. A resurgence in COVID-19 outbreaks, particularly in Europe and the US, combined with governments' reliance on the blunt instrument of quarantine in the absence of globally aligned testing regimes, has halted momentum toward reopening borders to travel."