A new report issued yesterday by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has forecast that airlines in the Middle East will lose $200m in 2009 as demand falls for air travel. The report said the challenge for the region will be to match capacity to demand as fleets expand and traffic slows, particularly for long-haul connections. The outlook is even more bleak for the worldwide industry, which is slated to lose $2.5bn in 2009 on top of the $5bn it is forecast to lose this year.