Airlines profit to reach $25.7b in 2024: IATA

The net profits of the global airline industry are expected to reach 25.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, representing a net profit margin of 2.7 percent, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

For 2023, the airline industry is expected to generate a net profit of 23.3 billion dollars, with a net profit margin of 2.6 percent, the IATA said in a statement.

The statement said that the airline industry's operating profits are expected to reach 49.3 billion dollars in 2024, up from 40.7 billion dollars in 2023.

Total airline industry revenues in 2024 are expected to grow 7.6 percent year-over-year to a record high of 964 billion dollars.

The IATA forecast that some 4.7 billion people will travel by airline in 2024, an all-time high that exceeds the pre-pandemic level of 4.5 billion recorded in 2019.

Cargo volumes are expected to reach 58 and 61 million tonnes in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

"Considering the major losses of recent years, the 25.7 billion dollars net profit expected in 2024 is a tribute to aviation's resilience. People love to travel and that has helped airlines to come roaring back to pre-pandemic levels of connectivity," IATA Director General Willie Walsh said.

"The speed of the recovery has been extraordinary; yet it also appears that the pandemic has cost aviation about four years of growth. From 2024 the outlook indicates that we can expect more normal growth patterns for both passenger and cargo," Walsh said.