ABSTRACT
This chapter details how governments, especially in Asia, have supported the airline industry during the Covid-19 crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a tremendous toll on the global economy, and the airline industry was hit hard by the global crisis. Although the airline industry has always been vulnerable to external shocks such as wars, disease outbreaks, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, none of them has affected the airline industry to the degree of Covid-19. Indeed, the steep decline in air travel in the early stages of the pandemic, followed by the progressive closure of borders in early 2020, presented the airline industry with an unprecedented existential threat. The chapter then analyzes how Covid-19 changed and will continue to change the industry, outlining three key mega-trends: nationalization, consolidation, and rationalization. © the several contributors 2021.