The war in the Middle East swiftly led to the cancellation of thousands of flights across the Persian Gulf. The crisis in the industry is severe, but aviation is no stranger to existential shocks. Over the last four decades it has faced the COVID pandemic, the 2008 recession, the September 11 attacks, the Gulf war and Sars.
This time around, the conflict wiped US$53 billion from the market value of the world’s 20 largest airlines in just its first three weeks.
