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Geneva, Switzerland and Kuala Lumpur (GenevaLunch) - Airlines are likely to lose $9 billion in 2009, twice the figure predicted in March, says Iata, the airline industry association. The figure was given by Iata’s director-general and CEO, Giovanni Bisignani, in his state of the industry address at the Geneva-based group’s annual general meeting this week in Kuala Lumpur. He says the revised figures reflect “a rapidly deteriorating revenue environment.” Bisignani pointed out that it took the industry three years to recover after the drop in travel post-September 2001, and that was after a 7 percent fall in reveneus. This time the revenue drop is expected to be 15 percent.

The group says in a press release that “recession is the most significant factor impacting the industry’s bottom line. IATA’s revised forecast sees revenues declining an unprecedented 15 percent ($80 billion) from $528b in 2008 to $448b in 2009.” The fall in air cargo demand is expected to be 17 percent. Oil prices are also playing a key role in the gloomy revenue picture.

The revised figures comes as several major airlines, including British Airways and Air France-KLM, are starting to show sharp drops. The biggest losses, according to the Financial Times, are expected in Asia-Pacific, hard hit by falling numbers of business travelers.