IRAQ WAR THREAT ADDS TO AIRLINES? WOES

IRAQ WAR THREAT ADDS TO AIRLINESÆ WOES    Airlines expect their financial losses to worsen because of the looming war in Iraq.
   The International Air Transport Association said Wednesday that air transport has already been going through its worst crisis in its 100-year history, accumulating more than $30 billion of losses since Sept. 11, 2001.
   “The present armed conflict will only worsen these losses,” said Giovanni Bisignani, director general and chief executive officer of IATA. He urged governments and infrastructure service providers “to share with the airlines the burden of this new crisis and to endeavor to reduce their charges.”
   However, IATA said airlines are continuing to do “business as usual.”
   All parties involved in air transport have put into place additional safety and security procedures. Aircraft are being re-routed around the conflict zone in accordance with air route contingency plans that were developed and agreed by IATA, the International Civil Aviation Organization and national governments.
   For flights to and from Persian Gulf destinations, pre-determined temporary routes will divert flights “well away from any military activity,” Bisignani said.
   IATA also has a 24-hour task force that is updating contingency plans for airlines. Its activities are coordinated with the International Civil Aviation Organization and the different national governments involved, IATA said.