Airline CEOs flee forward in a post-Covid world

Airline CEs say that for all intents and purposes the coronavirus pandemic that brought the industry to a near stand-still in 2020 has been conquered. Vaccination campaigns, in addition to restrictions on movement, have helped tamp down the spread of the virus across borders, and without state support, the industry would not be able to celebrate the milestone, the executives said at IATA’s World Air Transport Summit in Boston on 4 October. “The pandemic is in the rear-view mirror for us,” United Airlines CE Scott Kirby says. “We’re moving forward.” United, which was the first US passenger carrier to mandate vaccination for all employees, says 99.7% of its US-based staff has complied with that requirement. Those who did not are in the process of leaving the company. Other airline executives concurred. “In the medium to long term, I can see an end to [the pandemic],” Emirates Airline president Tim Clark says. “Probably by the end of next year and certainly into 2023 this will all be history” unless there is another, more-deadly variant. The all-important business travel segment will ”come bouncing back by the end of next year and be very, very strong in 23, 24 and 25”, he adds.<br/>