Qatar Airways hosts IATA World Financial Symposium in Doha – The Peninsula

Qatar Airways hosts IATA World Financial Symposium in Doha – The Peninsula

Doha: Qatar Airways is hosting the IATA World Financial Symposium (WFS) 2022, the biggest gathering of the aviation industry’s financial leaders since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in Doha from September 19–22, said a press release from the airline.

According to the release, the event, which will focus on "Reshaping Airline Resilience" after the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, follows the hugely successful IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM), the most attended AGM in the Middle East in history, and the World Air Transport Summit (WATS), held in Doha last June.

As the industry comes out of the greatest financial shock on record, numbers indicate a rapid emergence from the pandemic following the removal of government-mandated travel restrictions over the past two years. Industry losses are expected to fall to $9.7bn this year, an improvement from nearly $180bn in losses over the previous two years (2020–21). The release added that as travel barriers fall in most regions, a recent surge in demand suggests a recovery to pre-COVID-19 traffic levels in 2024, with a possibility of reaching profit in 2023, the release added.

It noted that at the same time, airline debts have soared as carriers borrowed to stay afloat during the