Boston: Global airlines ended their first meeting on Tuesday as COVID-19 brought its industry to its knees, voicing optimism about a surge in demand but desperate for governments to harmonize limit rules. To avoid slipping back into recession.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a grouping of 290 airlines, said confusion over travel restrictions is stalling the industry’s fragile recovery, as the pandemic plunged air travel into its worst recession.
“People want to fly. We’ve seen strong evidence of that,” Director General Willie Walsh said. “They can’t fly because we have restrictions hindering international travel.”
IATA expects international travel to double next year and reach 44% of pre-crisis levels in 2019 compared to the gloomy levels seen during the pandemic. In contrast, domestic travel is tipped to reach 93% of pre-pandemic levels.
The trade group, which includes dozens of state-owned carriers, blamed that gap on sweeping changes to entry rules and testing requirements in the top 50 air travel markets.
Even some airline and leasing company leaders trying to attend the industry’s annual gathering in Boston were unable to travel or had to take extra time to quarantine.
Airlines called for an end to restrictions on vaccinated passengers and for common health protocols at borders, although global coordination in aviation moves at a deliberate pace.
“Frankly, governments haven’t made it easy for airlines or the traveling public to understand what the rules are,” JetBlue president Joanna Geraghty hosted the gathering at a hotel shared with domestic tourists.
Still, the head of the Emirate of Dubai, which has been one of the fastest officials on the prospects for recovery once the restrictions are lifted, said bookings in reopening markets like the UK and the United States were “rapid”. had increased.”
“This reflects a bow-wave of demand that we are seeing everywhere,” said its president, Tim Clark. “Demand for air travel will restore itself … sooner than later.”
the atlantic test
Airlines were buoyed by the Biden administration’s plan to reopen the United States in November, on a crucial trans-Atlantic run for air travelers from 33 countries, including Europe.
But the airlines skipped the Boston gathering after they arrived with severely strained balance sheets, and Clark said most would remain risk-averse and focus on recovering cash for 2-3 years.
IATA warned that serious challenges remained for carriers, while expressing frustration at airports and other suppliers for not doing enough to share the pain caused by the crisis.
While the White House has not set a date for lifting the travel ban on Europeans, JetBlue expects it to happen before the US Thanksgiving holiday next month.
“If there is a delay in reopening, we will face consequences across the industry,” chief executive Robin Hayes said after presiding over the October 3-5 conference.
United Airlines chief executive Scott Kirby said last week bookings for trans-Atlantic flights were higher than in the same period in 2019.
Aircap, the world’s largest leasing company, said the reopening of the world’s most important long-haul market would set a trend for other markets to follow.
“Airlines … they don’t have the flexibility,” Chief Executive Angus Kelly told an audience of airline leaders. “They can’t afford to get it wrong.”
Disclaimer: This post has been self-published from the agency feed without modification and has not been reviewed by an editor
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