According to the financial results for 2021 and the first half of 2022, airlines around the world they suffered a net loss of nearly $220 billion in the two and a half years of Covid-19. The report was made by Cirium, a company that deals with the operational analysis of airlines.
Revenues at global airline groups more than halved in 2020 and, despite some recovery, ended 2021 with numbers down more than 40% from pre-health crisis levels. At $500 billion, revenues remain lower than those reported 15 years ago.
With most airline financial results known for the first half of 2022, there are further signs of recovery from the crisis, but the aviation sector is still expected to post a loss for the full year 2022.
Travel demand has increased and global revenues are up 70% in the first half of 2022, but will still be below 2019 levels. According to the Cirium report, the greatest progress was made by North American airlines, as they grew 5% from pre-pandemic levels and returned to a modest operating profit.
In Europe, major airline groups such as the Lufthansa Group and Air France-KLM reported strong growth in their half-yearly revenues as a result of the lifting of travel restrictions in early 2022. Western European passenger air traffic reached approx. 95% of pre-pandemic levels, boosting revenue and returning the largest groups to profitability in the quarter ended September.
All in all, after 2.5 years of the pandemic, the net losses of the airlines were 220 billion dollars. By at least 2022, the estimated losses are $15 billion, about as much as airlines lost after the 11/XNUMX attacks.