The plunge in travel caused by the coronavirus will drive airline losses of more than $84bn (£66bn) this year, a global industry group has warned.

The International Air Transport Association, which has 290 member airlines, said revenues would drop to $419bn, down 50% from 2019.

That is steeper than initially forecast and comes despite recent signs that travellers are returning to the skies.

This year will go down as the “worst” on record financially, the group said.

“There is no comparison,” said Alexandre de Juniac, chief executive of the group.

The group said it expected airlines to lose $230m on average each day this year as the number of travellers falls to 2.25 billion, roughly halving from last year.

That will erase more than a decade of growth, returning the industry to 2006 levels.

The association said the industry would see losses again next year, but the damage would drop significantly – to $15.8bn – as revenues start to rebound and passenger numbers climb back to 2014 levels.

“Provided there is not a second and more damaging wave of Covid-19, the worst of the collapse in traffic is likely behind us,” Mr de Juniac said.