The airlines' cash burn is expected to continue at a higher pace than previously expected, with the industry now estimated to go through 75 billion dollars - 95 billion dollars. This will make breaking even very unlikely, the organization said.
IATA also announced that it will launch its Covid-19 travel pass by April and urged governments to adopt a digital vaccination certification system.
IATA, earlier this month announced that it predicts 2021 air traffic levels will reach 50 percent of 2019 levels but warned that even that could be a challenge.
In IATA's worst-case scenario, 2021 travel by air will amount to 38 percent of pre-coronavirus pandemic levels seen in 2019, rising only 13 percent from 2020.
"I don’t think anyone sees a world free of Covid-19 anytime soon… even within this year," IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac stated.