Australia’s aviation industry is in a nosedive with thousands of jobs axed and huge losses reported due to the pandemic.

Today, Qantas reported a $1.96 billion loss, compared with its $840 million profit last year.

Editor of Airline Ratings Geoffrey Thomas told Jim Wilson it’s a “ghastly figure” for Qantas.

“A lot of pain there in numbers and a lot of pain for the people involved, but not unexpected at all.”

Mr Thomas has warned the next financial year will be “even worse”, because these recent figures are propped up by pre-COVID conditions.

“There could well be more redundancies.

“A lot depends on how long the JobKeeper program stays in place.”

Click PLAY below to listen to the full forecast for the aviation industry

Image: Getty