I see that I can save 46.14 GB of space if I delete my IOS files from my MacBook Air- what are the consequences of this action. I need to save space and going through item by item would take a very long time

These are backup files of iPhone. 

Copy backups to another location

If you need copies of your backups, you can find the Backup folder and copy the entire folder (not just part of it) to another place, like an external drive or network-storage location.

and then...

Delete backups

1. On a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15 or later, open the Finder. On a Mac with macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier, or on a PC, open iTunes. Click your device. 
2. In the Finder, under the General tab, click Manage Backups to see a list of your backups. From here, you can right-click on the backup that you want, then select Delete or Archive. In iTunes, choose Preferences, then click Devices. From here, you can right-click on the backup that you want, then choose Delete or Archive. Click OK when you're finished.
3. Click Delete Backup, then confirm.
4. 

I routinely delete the iOS update files. If they are backup files, you can keep the most recent only if everything is working well on your iOS devices.