IATA: Airline industry profits to plunge 49%

THE airline industry’s profits next year will fall 49%, more than predicted earlier, as the sovereign-debt crisis in the euro region hurts economic growth, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said.

This news comes as Aer Lingus revealed that its total booked passenger numbers in November, including those on its Aer Lingus Regional operations, increased by 8.8% on the same month in last year.

Total Aer Lingus passenger numbers carried last month were 699,000, up 7% on November 2010.