KLM chief predicts uneven recovery will balance out
Travel recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic is uneven as nations vary in their progress vaccinating against the disease yet stagnant demand in some regions may be offset by returning demand in others, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines CE Pieter Elbers predicts. International travel is uncertain amid the restrictions set by different nations aimed at halting the spread of Covid-19 yet government co-operation can accelerate recovery, Elbers said on 8 June during a virtual discussion hosted by the International Aviation Club of Washington DC. The latest forecast by air traffic manager Eurocontrol states that air travel in Europe “is not expected to reach 2019 levels until 2024 at the earliest”, which makes Elbers sceptical. “I would have difficulty saying it’s going to take years,” Elbers says of international recovery, adding that “there are going to be some specific parts that will take longer”. “I would see no reason why Europe and India would take four years to come back,” he says of that international route network. The first priority should be to reopen travel between the European Union and the USA, he says, and then “other nations will follow”.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-06-10/sky/klm-chief-predicts-uneven-recovery-will-balance-out
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KLM chief predicts uneven recovery will balance out
Travel recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic is uneven as nations vary in their progress vaccinating against the disease yet stagnant demand in some regions may be offset by returning demand in others, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines CE Pieter Elbers predicts. International travel is uncertain amid the restrictions set by different nations aimed at halting the spread of Covid-19 yet government co-operation can accelerate recovery, Elbers said on 8 June during a virtual discussion hosted by the International Aviation Club of Washington DC. The latest forecast by air traffic manager Eurocontrol states that air travel in Europe “is not expected to reach 2019 levels until 2024 at the earliest”, which makes Elbers sceptical. “I would have difficulty saying it’s going to take years,” Elbers says of international recovery, adding that “there are going to be some specific parts that will take longer”. “I would see no reason why Europe and India would take four years to come back,” he says of that international route network. The first priority should be to reopen travel between the European Union and the USA, he says, and then “other nations will follow”.<br/>
