Global airlines blast govts for messy coronavirus pandemic response

Global airlines hit out at governments on Monday for what the industry's leading ambassador termed their "shambolic" handling of the COVID-19 crisis, and urged nations to rip up the playbook of widespread border closures for any future pandemics.

"The cost of government mismanagement was substantial. It devastated economies, disrupted supply chains and destroyed jobs," Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, told an industry summit.

Airlines have themselves been under fire from governments and consumer groups for disruption as travel demand resumes more briskly than expected, but the airline industry sees a common thread in uncoordinated government responses to