Airline ticket sales have fallen sharply since the end of 2021, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Wednesday, blaming governments for having "overreacted" to the omicron COVID variant by closing borders.

IATA, which groups more than 290 airlines, said international air travel had been slowly but steadily recovering from the mass shutdowns of 2020 and early 2021 before the fast-spreading omicron strain was discovered at the end of November.

• Omicron ‘dangerous’, especially for unvaccinated, says WHO

Ticket sales in November were 60.5 percent below their pre-pandemic November 2019 level, marking an improvement on the 64.8 percent decline recorded a month earlier.

• US on ‘threshold’ of living with coronavirus: Fauci

"Unfortunately, governments overreacted to the emergence of the omicron variant at the close of the month and resorted to the tried-and-failed methods of border closures, excessive testing of travelers and quarantine to slow the spread," IATA president Willie Walsh accused.

As a result, he said, the industry was bracing for "a more difficult first quarter than expected."

IATA's members account for 83 percent of global air traffic.

In October, the association forecast cumulative industry losses of $11.6 billion in 2022, down from an estimated $51.8 billion in 2021 and $137.7 billion in 2020.

IATA said it expected US airlines to turn profits again this year but that European carriers, which operate more long-haul flights and are therefore more exposed to border closures, would remain in the red.

• Confirmatory testing must be reserved for symptomatic, vulnerable group: WHO

FROM THE ARCHIVES:

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv