Global airlines likely to be bankrupt by end of May, aviation consultant warns

Without government intervention, most airlines will go bankrupt by the end of May amid the coronavirus outbreak, an aviation consultant warns.
The warning, published by CAPA Centre for Aviation, based in Sydney, Australia, noted that cancellations outweigh future bookings, and airlines are seeing an unprecedented lack of demand.
Airlines have taken many precautions already — cutting flights and postponing new pilot trainings — amid recommendations to stay home and international travel restrictions.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
CAPA notes "national self-interest over cooperation" to be a major threat of airlines throughout the world. The largest airlines in the U.S. and China will likely survive with government or owner assistance, per CAPA.
But intergovernmental coordination is necessary, CAPA says, and without it, "emerging from the crisis will be like entering a brutal battlefield, littered with casualties."
"The last thing the world needs post-coronavirus is a nationalistic aeropolitical confrontation," CAPA stated.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Taylor Watson is audience engagement editor for TheWeek.com and a former editorial assistant. She graduated from Syracuse University, with a major in magazine journalism and minors in food studies and nutrition. Taylor has previously written for Runner's World, Vice, and more.
-
A wine-themed tour of beautiful Uruguay
The Week Recommends Secret paradise in South America boasts beautiful vineyards
By The Week UK Published
-
Romanian democracy: no place for the 'TikTok messiah' Calin Georgescu
Talking Point State is 'fighting back' against poster boy for right-wing conspiracists
By The Week UK Published
-
5 terrifically taxing cartoons about tariffs
Cartoons Artists take on rising prices, dumb ideas, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US Steel
Speed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battle
Speed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally
Speed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published