Last checked at 
(Adds United Airlines on flight changes, new flight cuts,
Germanwings closure, U.S. bailout talks)
By Sarah Young and Tim Hepher
LONDON/PARIS, April 7 (Reuters) - Global airlines warned
that 25 million jobs across the world could be at risk from the
coronavirus air travel downturn, and held out against offering
refunds to passengers as cash runs out.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) issued
the warning as part of a series of messages about the state of
airline industry, while urging governments to help.
As it did so, Germanwings became the latest corporate
casualty of the crisis as German parent Lufthansa
announced its closure as part of a broader overhaul. Germanwings
operates under the wider low-cost brand Eurowings.
In a weekly briefing, IATA highlighted job losses and the
impact on the world economy if governments let airlines
collapse. But a climate group said bailouts should come with
stiff conditions.
Three months of severe travel restrictions plus lower
traffic over 2020 could put 25 million jobs at risk, IATA
warned, adding that about a third of 2.7 million direct jobs in
the airline sector had either been lost or were furloughed.
IATA, whose members include the likes of Lufthansa
and British Airways parent IAG, said global air travel
slumped by 70% this quarter, meaning airlines with grounded
fleets and dwindling cash could not afford to issue refunds.
Director General Alexandre De Juniac said airlines, facing
$35 billion of potential refund claims by the end of this
quarter, hoped passengers would accept vouchers instead.
"The key element for us is to avoid running out of cash so
refunding the cancelled ticket for us is almost unbearable
financially speaking," De Juniac told reporters on Tuesday.
REFUNDS LAWSUIT
Airlines are burning through cash reserves as they try to
stay afloat. IATA said providing refunds for cancelled flights,
as rules in many parts of the world such as the European Union
require them to do, was not possible.
Some consumer groups are angry at airlines for ignoring
those rules, and say hard-up passengers need the cash just as
much as the airlines.
In the United States, a passenger filed a class-action
lawsuit on Monday against United Airlines for refusing
to pay a refund after his family’s flight was cancelled.
The airline declined to comment on the action, but said that
since the start of the crisis it had given customers more
flexibility by allowing them to change plans without a fee.
The U.S. Transportation Department has told airlines they
must refund tickets for cancelled flights, following a rising
number of consumer complaints and inquiries.
The refunds row escalated as U.S. carriers slashed more
flights and held talks with the Treasury over the terms of $25
billion earmarked for payroll costs.
Airlines, unions and Democrats are trying to minimise the
amount of equity or potential future stakes that the U.S.
government might take in compensation for such support.
In Europe, an environmental group called Stay Grounded
published an open letter signed by 250 environmental groups and
charities from across Europe calling on governments to attach
climate and labour conditions to any airline bailouts.
De Juniac said airlines had already committed to ambitious
targets and would not abandon the effort due to the crisis.
IATA has been asking governments for lower charges and taxes
to help its 290 members - which transport 82% of global traffic
- survive. It also wants funds to help restart routes in future.
The airlines body said European countries had agreed to
defer air traffic control charges totalling some 1.1 billion
euros ($1.2 billion) from February to May.
($1 = 0.9164 euros)
(Additional reporting by Laurence Frost, Tracy Rucinski, David
Shepardson, Editing by John Stonestreet, David Holmes and Mike
Collett-White)
