IATA forecasts net profit of $29.3 billion in 2020

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its report has forecasted a net profit of $29.3 billion in 2020 for the global airlines industry. The industry in 2019 stood at a net profit of $25.9 billion (revised downward from a $28 billion forecast in June).

According to the report, the cargo traffic turned negative last year for the first time since 2012. The freight carriage in 2019 slipped by 2.1 million tonnes (mt) from 63.3 mt in 2018 to 61.2mt.

The 3.3% annual decline in demand was the steepest drop since 2009 during the Global Financial Crisis

However, the report suggests that a moderate rebound of 2% will be seen in cargo traffic in the coming year, with tonnes forecast to reach 62.4 million (still less than 2018 result).