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LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - The head of global airline body
IATA said he was cautiously optimistic about demand for travel
in the second half of the year, adding that he expects
transatlantic flying between Britain and the United States to
re-open in the coming weeks.
Schedules are expanding as airlines sense consumer demand
for travel rising and progress with COVID-19 vaccinations means
shuttered routes could resume, International Air Transport
Association Director General Willie Walsh told reporters.
"I think we have to be optimistic that we will see a
relaxation in relation to transatlantic flying during the coming
weeks," Walsh said on Wednesday.
Major airlines including American Airlines, IAG
unit British Airways, Delta Air Lines and
United Airlines have for some months been pushing the
U.S. and UK governments to re-open travel between the two
countries citing the pair's advanced vaccination programmes.
Walsh said there had been no announcement on the matter at
the G7 leaders meeting in June due to a lack of data about the
vaccine's efficacy against the Delta variant of the virus, but
that had changed now.
A transatlantic re-opening would be a huge boost for the
airlines.
Walsh's optimism came after IATA published figures for May
showing that passenger air travel demand remains subdued
globally, 63% lower in May 2021 compared to the same month two
years ago before the pandemic struck.
Walsh blamed ongoing restrictions and a lack of
co-ordination between governments for creating consumer
confusion and hindering the speed at which aviation can recover.
He said data showed that the risk of re-opening borders was
very, very low where people were fully vaccinated or where
sensible testing regimes were used to facilitate travel.
Governments would come under increasing pressure to allow
travel, he forecast, as growing numbers of vaccinated consumers,
who were reluctant to holiday at the height of the pandemic,
demand their freedom again.
"What we're seeing is a shift in the consumer attitudes over
time and I think that's going to accelerate now, as people
become more frustrated at the pace at which governments are
moving," he said.
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Tim Hepher; Editing by Kirsten
Donovan)
