The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that about 25 million workers are in danger of disappearing because the market for air travel is plummeting in the midst of the COVID 19 crisis.

Airlines depend on governments to provide urgent financial assistance to enable airlines to continue to operate viable companies that can recover from the pandemic.

In particular, IATA calls for direct financial assistance, loans, loan guarantees, and corporate bond market funding as well as for tax relief.

"The devastating effect of COVID-19 on the airline industry is not properly represented in words. 25 million people who work in airline-dependent jobs would feel economic pain. Airlines must be sustainable companies to contribute to the recovery of the pandemic. Airlines are now facing a crucial lifeline, "said Alexandre de Juniac, Managing Director of IATA and Chief Executive Officer.

In addition to a critical financial relief, careful preparation & coordination would also be required in order to ensure that aviation companies are ready to deal with the pandemic.

"Never before have we shut the industry to this point. We, therefore, have no experience of how to proceed. It'll be difficult. In practical terms, we need contingencies for expired licenses and certifications.

In order to avoid reinfections via imported cases, the industry must adapt operations and processes.

"To handle travel restrictions we need to lift prior to getting back to work, we need a consistent and productive approach. These are just a couple of the major tasks ahead of us. And if industry and government are to thrive, they should be organized and cooperated, "de Juniac said.

Globally, the livelihood of about 65,5 million people, including travel and tourism, depends on the aviation industry. Of these, 2.7 million are employed by airlines.

"We do not expect the sector we closed a few weeks ago to restart again. The world will always be linked by airlines. And we're going to do this in a range of business models.

"We have to focus on this work quickly, however, we will have to change the processes of industry, we don't want to repeat the mistakes happened in 9.11 incident when several new procedures were introduced in an uncoordinated manner, and we end up with a mess of steps that we are still resolving today.

The summit dates are confirmed in anticipation of a start before the end of April.