AFP, Cancun :
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) increased its profit forecast for the global airline industry Monday, citing surging demand.
Total profits for the group’s 275 member airlines are now expected to hit $31.4 billion this year, up more than five percent from the previous forecast late last year.
“Airlines are defining a new epoch in industry profitability. For a third year in a row, we expect returns that are above the cost of capital,” said IATA’s director general, Alexandre de Juniac, as the group opened its annual meeting in the Mexican resort city of Cancun.
But he warned airlines still face risks, ranging from cost increases to security issues to growing protectionism in some countries, including the United States and Britain.
“With earnings of $7.69 per passenger, there is not much buffer,” he said. “That’s why airlines must remain vigilant against any cost increases, including from taxes, labor and infrastructure.”
Among the industry’s concerns, he said, was the “surprise” decision by the United States and Britain to ban laptop and tablet computers in-cabin on flights from certain airports in the Middle East and Turkey.
The move came after intelligence officials learned of efforts by the Islamic State group to fashion a bomb into consumer electronics.
