The International Air Transport Association has warned air carriers worldwide that rough economic conditions lay ahead.

The warning came this week via Tony Tyler, the organisation’s chief executive and director general, who said that slowing economies in the US and Europe combined with turmoil in the financial markets would spell trouble for airlines in the coming months. He said although that there didn’t yet appear to be a recession, there was massive uncertainty in the global economy that was even more clear in America and Europe.

Mr Tyler also said that carbon-cutting initiatives imposed by the European Union would add further pressure on the industry. Amid criticism from airlines the EU had offered ‘free permits’, to which Tyler referred to as ‘linguistic gymnastics’.

The news comes after the IATA had said that airlines would see a drop in profits from $6.9 billion (£4.4 billion) to $4.9 billion (£3.2 billion) in 2012, a decrease of 29 per cent. The organisation represents 230 carriers from around the world, whose services account for about 93 per cent of all international scheduled air traffic.

Meanwhile, Piyasvasti Amranand, president of Thai Airways International issued a similarly bleak statement this week. He said that the obvious slow down of US and European economies were already affecting all airlines flying to and from Europe, a continent whose air traffic accounts for 37 per cent of Thai Airways’ passengers per kilometre.