The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that the coronavirus pandemic has caused a dramatic collapse in worldwide air connectivity.

Prior to the pandemic, the growth in air connectivity was a global success story, IATA said. The devastating impact of international connectivity can be seen in the shift rankings of the world’s most connected cities. London, which was the world’s number one most connected city in 2019, has seen a 67% decline in connectivity, and this year in September, it had fallen to number eight on the list.

Similarly, New York has seen a 66% decline, Tokyo 65%, Bangkok 81% and Hong Kong 81%. IATA study shows that cities with large numbers of domestic connections now dominate, with China having the four most connected cities: Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

“The dramatic shift in the connectivity rankings demonstrates the scale at which the world’s connectivity has been re-ordered over the last months," IATA’s Senior Vice President for Member External Relations Sebastian Mikosz said. He further said the message the world must take from this study is the urgent need to re-build the global air transport network.

In its report, IATA has also predicted that global airline will lose a total of $157 billion this year and the negative impact of coronavirus will be felt for years, Arab News reported.

IATA has called on governments to safely re-open borders using testing, saying that 'the systematic testing of travelers is the immediate solution to rebuilding the connectivity that has been lost'.