The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that the global airline industry is facing a summer squeeze, with travel demand expected to surpass prepandemic levels while aircraft deliveries drop sharply owing to production problems at Boeing and Airbus. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that air carriers are spending billions on repairs to keep flying older, less fuel-efficient jets, and paying a premium to secure aircraft from lessors. Some carriers are still being forced to trim their schedules to cope with the lack of available planes. At the same time, the number of travellers globally is set to hit historic levels, with 4.7 billion people expected to travel in 2024 compared with 4.5 billion in 2019. That should lead to "some particularly high airfares," said John Grant, senior analyst at travel data firm OAG. Last December, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) had predicted a 9-per-cent annual growth in global airline capacity this year. That estimate looks optimistic after Boeing's safety crisis. Passenger carriers will receive 19 per cent fewer aircraft this year than they expected because of production issues at Boeing and Airbus, said Martha Neubauer at AeroDynamic Advisory.