Shielding flag carriers ‘is killing airlines’

Governments shielding their national flag carriers are “killing” the aviation industry, the head of the International Air Transport Association (Iata) has warned.

Giovanni Bisignani, chief executive of Iata, warned that protectionist attitudes towards flag carriers were exacerbating the downturn. Soaring oil prices and slowing economies are causing concern for airlines, which raised capacity by buying aircraft but now struggle to fill them.

“Governments around the world … say they cannot lose their flag carrier. I am always telling them that the flag on the tail is killing our industry, ” he said. The Iata boss warned there would be “pain” this year. Profit forecasts for the industry for 2008 have been slashed from $7.8bn (