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IATA estimates that revenues generated by airlines in the Canadian market will fall by $14.6 billion (43.2 per cent) in 2020 due to COVID-19, putting at risk nearly 250,000 Canadian jobs and $25.4 billion of Canada’s GDP, Cerda said.
“The longer we go without government intervention, the more risk there is that the size of the airlines going forward will be very different,” Cerda said. “They will be smaller, there will be less jobs and the longevity of that airline will be put at risk.”
While access to liquidity is one pressing need, Cerda said it’s also crucial that the federal government remove the 14-day quarantine requirement for international arrivals. He said airlines have gone to great lengths to implement new health and safety protocols, but they will not be able to capitalize on Canada’s short but lucrative summer travel season if visitors face a mandatory two-week quarantine on arrival.
“The longer we go with the industry basically on lockdown, the more difficult it is going to be to recuperate these airlines,” Cerda said. “The urgency right now is to get the industry back in the air.”
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