TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia CEO Irfan Setiaputra estimated that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, aviation business will likely be recovered in the next two years or at the end of 2022.

“Many analysts of the aviation industry seem to agree that the recovery will occur at the end of 2022. So we still have two and a half years to see a better situation as before the Covid-19 outbreak. This is a great challenge,” said Irfan in an online discussion of the 2020 Indonesia Brand Forum in Jakarta, Wednesday, July 1.

Irfan said the ongoing pandemic has become the largest challenge for the aviation industry, especially airlines. Thus, adjustments are necessary to expedite the recovery process.

To date, he claimed, no single airline in the whole world could see and survive in the pandemic, and they also have to wait for the next two years. Not a few airlines have declared bankruptcy since it is a reasonable option these days.

The national airline observed that in the past two to three weeks, the number of passengers reflected positive movements. However, the realization was still far compared to the condition before the pandemic.

Previously, Irfan said his airline must keep flying despite being in the middle of a ‘war’. By means, Garuda Indonesia must survive and serve passengers regardless of the situation. The airline’s revenue, he added, drastically dropped by 90 percent, and 70 percent of its fleet was kept in during the pandemic.

Read: Garuda Indonesia to Open New Direct Flights to U.S., Europe

BISNIS