Threat of Another Lost Summer Stirs Airline Cash-Flow Fears

The latest setbacks to the return of air travel are stoking concern that a cash crunch is about to bear down on the airline industry.

A second summer lost to the coronavirus crisis would likely trigger a spate of airline failures and bankruptcy filings, alongside a repeat of 2020’s bailouts, job cuts, and jetliner deferrals and cancellations, according consultants IBA Group.

In just the past week, the optimism that took the Bloomberg World Airlines Index to the highest since the start of the pandemic has evaporated.

Ryanair Holdings Plc passenger aircraft on the tarmac at London Stansted Airport.

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

TUI AG, the world’s biggest tour operator, scaled back its summer schedule ...