Head Of Airline Emirates Believes International Travel Is Likely To Remain Subdued Until The End Of 2021

By Dave Simpson
Head Of Airline Emirates Believes International Travel Is Likely To Remain Subdued Until The End Of 2021

International travel is likely to remain subdued until the end of the year as countries reintroduce tough restrictions to control COVID-19 infections, the head of Dubai-based airline Emirates has said.

"It is going to take longer than I would have hoped and I think probably we are going to see some difficulties. We are not going to see capacity return that I hoped in July and August, I think, maybe [it will return] in the last quarter this year," Emirates president Tim Clark told a virtual summit by aviation consultancy CAPA.

Clark said that he expects that governments will continue to close borders and place restrictions on international travel until they get a better understanding of how to deal with the new variants of COVID-19.

The 71-year-old, a respected industry veteran, has tended to be more bullish about a rebound throughout the crisis than many of his peers.

Lack Of A Domestic Market

Unlike some other airlines, Emirates lacks a domestic market to cushion it against the downturn in international travel.

News by Reuters, edited by Hospitality Ireland. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.

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