The number of air passengers in Europe will fall by 60 percent this year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). As a result, around seven million jobs in the air transport and tourism sectors are at risk. IATA says ongoing travel restrictions and concerns about a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to their forecast.
In June, IATA estimated that this year’s demand for air travel would halve, and at the time, also predicted that six to seven million jobs in the sectors would be at risk.
Some European countries are introducing or considering restrictions on the increase in the number of new coronavirus infections.
Air traffic in Europe has recovered in recent weeks.
Britain introduced a quarantine for passengers from Spain last month, and Belgium was later added to the list. London is considering the same measures for those arriving from France.