Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption World's airlines to make $8.9bn profit, Iata says

The world's airlines are expected to post a profit of $8.9bn (£5.7bn) this year, an industry body has said, in a sharp upgrade of its previous forecast.

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) said the industry recovery had been "stronger and faster than anyone predicted".

In June, it had predicted a much smaller profit of $2.5bn. In March, it had expected a loss of $2.8bn.

Iata said increasing demand and stable costs were driving the recovery.

However, Iata chief executive Giovanni Bisignani warned that there was still uncertainty surrounding the strength of the recovery.

"The $8.9bn profit that we are projecting will start to recoup the nearly $50bn lost over the previous decade. But a reality check is in order," he said.

"There are lingering doubts about how long this cyclical upturn will last."

But Iata also said that Europe still "lags in the red".

Europe is the only region the organisation still expects to make a loss this year.

However, it now expects a smaller loss of $1.3bn, compared with June's forecast of $2.8bn.