• RESPONSE: The Mexican government has promised to respond within the next 10 days to the airlines’ industry request for emergency relief measures to help them deal with the coronavirus shock, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA).
• SHOCK: Given the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on global travel, IATA is estimating that Mexican airlines will lose USD 6.4 billion in revenues along with 117,000 jobs directly linked to the industry. The tourism sector accounts for approximately 8.5% of Mexico’s GDP.
• SURPRISE: “We are surprised that Mexico is not playing a greater role, considering that it is one of the largest economies in the region, it is an economy that depends heavily on travel and tourism”, said Peter Cerda, IATA’s Regional Vice President for the Americas, earlier this week.
• MEASURES: Previously, IATA had suggested the López Obrador administration to implement several relief measures for the industry, including deferring fiscal deadlines, tax deadlines, and delaying deadlines for jet fuel payments and direct compensations for lost income.
