The world's airlines will lose $9 billion this year, and the industry will face a slow recovery as the economic crisis saps air travel and cargo demand, a key industry body warned today.

The International Air Transport Association, which represents 230 airlines worldwide, admitted the revised loss estimate was nearly double the $4.7 billion it forecast in March, reflecting a “rapidly deteriorating revenue environment.”

Although there have been signs of a bottoming out of the recession, IATA said the industry was severely hit in the first quarter with 50 major airlines reporting losses of more than $3 billion. It predicted that weak consumer confidence, high costs and rising oil prices pose headwinds for future recovery.

The IATA's chief executive Giovanni Bisignani said: “There is no modern precedent for today's economic meltdown. The ground has shifted. Our industry has been shaken. This is the most difficult situation that the industry has faced.”

About 4,000 aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in the next three years. “Aircraft ordered in good times are being delivered in recession,” Bisignani said. “Finding customers to fill them profitably will be a challenge.”