"It is more than a hit for the industry. We are fighting for survival"

That's Alexandre De Juniac, outgoing head of aviation industry body IATA. Read on for our full interview – in which he tells us how his successor at the association is exactly what the body needs. 

At the time of writing, we're two days away from Thanksgiving in the U.S., which means a good day for one lucky turkey, but a really, really bad day for approximately 20 million others. That should be good news for farmers, but with social distancing still in place, some fear sales could be way down as parties are smaller and so is the amount of turkey needed. 

Finally, the French wine lovers in and around Lyon are celebrating the famous "Beaujolais Nouveau" day – where they get to uncork the first batch of this vintage's red wines after only two months' maturation.  

To mark this wonderful day, celebrated by journalists and businesspeople the world over, I've taken a look into where Europe's wine actually comes from… Have the French kept their crown? Scroll down to find out. 

Happy reading,  

Patrick Atack 
Digital business correspondent  

P.S. Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here

China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) approved Baoshang Bank to enter bankruptcy proceedings. The bank is set to be the first commercial bank to go bust in China. The People's Bank of China and the CBIRC took over the Inner Mongolia-based bank last May citing its "serious credit risks."

Germany's gross domestic product rose by 8.5 percent in the third quarter of 2020, compared with the second quarter, which offsets a large part of the economic setback due to the coronavirus pandemic. The increase of the GDP in the third quarter was slightly stronger than the 8.2 percent reported on October 30, and far better than the 9.8 percent decrease in the second quarter.

Elon Musk, the Canadian-South African entrepreneur behind SpaceX and Tesla, has overtaken Microsoft founder Bill Gates as the world's second richest person. Just a week ago, the multi-billionaire overtook Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg, but with Tesla stock prices continuing to soar, the divisive character is now only behind Amazon chief Jeff Bezos in the bank account ranks at $127.9 billion. 

Global cinema chain Cineworld now looks less likely to crash after a package of new deals and security worth more than $750 million was struck, according to CEO Mooky Greidinger. One method to improve its cashflow was to bring forward its tax year end – thereby also bringing forward an expected tax refund of $200 million. 

The European Union could produce enough batteries for electric vehicles to "meet the needs of the European automotive industry, and even to build our export capacity" by 2025, according to European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic. There are 15 battery factory projects currently being built in the EU. 

Sticking with news from Brussels, The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it expects its ban on the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to be lifted in January 2021. It comes a week after U.S. authorities gave the plane maker cause for celebration by hinting at its own regulatory approval. The craft has been grounded for nearly two years after two fatal crashes. 

But despite that good news, the global aviation industry is still facing a $157 billion loss over the year, according to the airline industry body IATA. You can hear more from IATA's director general in today's interview – just scroll down for more.

The crypto currency Bitcoin is on the verge of setting a new record price, after again reaching its previous cap of $19,000 today. If it beats that mark, it will top a fantastic year for Bitcoin (and its investors), with it value already ballooning by 160 percent in 2020.

If Bitcoin investors sit at one end of the spectrum, then perhaps Spanish hoteliers sit uncomfortably at the other end. In October, Spanish hotel bookings fell by more than 80 percent as sales continue to slide on 2019 figures. Bookings dropped by 78 percent in September, but 83 percent in October. 

Joe Biden, the presumptive president elect of the U.S., is reportedly on the verge of appointing Janet Yellen to the top economic cabinet position, Treasury Secretary. The former chair of the Federal Reserve would be the first woman to hold the position in the U.S.'s 244-year history. 

Consumer confidence in the Republic of Ireland bucked the trend of decline across Western economies, by jumping 18 points to 65.5 in November, from October's figure. According to KBC Bank, positive employment news, a stimulus package agreed by the Dublin government and falling COVID-19 infection rates were behind the move.

As Thanksgiving approaches, airlines have received a needed boost in the U.S. with millions risking traveling despite COVID-19 numbers continuing to rise across the country. The TSA said at least 3 million people took flights over the weekend.

A confectionery store in Hungary has had an unexpected surge in orders for its chocolate santa treats after it decided to add marzipan face masks to the design amid the pandemic. One of its confectioner's, Laszlo Rimoczi, has admitted the staff are struggling keep pace with demand so have had to simplify the design to produce about 100 masked Santas a day, using gluten-free Italian chocolate.

WATCH: When we think of solar panels, we associate them with harvesting energy from sunlight to generate power or electricity. But one company has taken that idea indoors:

Alexandre de Juniac, director general of IATA, spoke to CGTN Europe this morning on the headline figure of $157 billion lost by global airlines since March – and what is next for the aviation sector.

As you come towards the end of your time at IATA, do you think COVID-19 has been the biggest challenge?

A drop in traffic of 66 percent by the end of 2020 compared with 2019… that's totally unprecedented. 

And in 2021, we expect the losses to be around $40 billion and the traffic to be half of what it was in 2019. So it is something that is more than a hit for the industry. We are fighting for survival currently. 

How will the vaccine help?

It's very good news … But we cannot wait for the vaccine to be in place, because it will not be in place before the second half of 2021. So that's the reason why we ask governments to reopen borders by implementing serious testing procedures and the systematic testing procedures [now].

It's been reported former IAG boss Willie Walsh is going to be your successor – do you think he's the right fit? 

He has done an outstanding job at IAG … and is, I think, the right individual and executive for IATA to continue what we have done in terms of transforming the organization and preparing to restructure the industry.