Higher fares and uncertainty could delay air travel's return to normalcy

IT IS a question that no one has the answer to: When can global air travel resume, and more importantly, when can it resume with enough precautions in place so that passengers and crew members are confident enough to get on a plane again? Already, some aviation analysts say it could take as long as 18 to 24 months until there is a significant spike in demand and the industry starts to return to pre-Covid levels.

Other medical and security experts feel that a large proportion of travellers will not even want to fly - be it for business or leisure - until a safe and effective vaccine for the virus is ready. Again, not even the best scientists and researchers out there can say with any certainty when such a vaccine or some kind of proven treatment is commercially available.

What is quite clear, however, is that the flying experience will never be the same, as the debate rages on about how to get airlines flying again while observing strict safe-distancing measures. Airlines, already battling the worst aviation crisis since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US back in 2001, face the daunting challenge of reassuring their customers that it is still safe to fly, even after the world emerges from its lockdown mode.