Etihad Airways hopes the air travel demand will recover only by 2023, but a significant rise will already come in late 2021.

According to Martin Drew, the Senior Vice President of Sales & Cargo at Etihad Airways, the carrier’s previous hopes to see the recovery by 2023 are being pushed back by a year, the Airways magazine reports.

Nevertheless, the UAE’s national airline hopes to see strong demand in the second half of 2021.

Drew also confirmed that Etihad Airways remains onboard with intentions to adopt IATA Travel Pass, something the airline announced an intention to do in January 2021. 

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The adoption of the Travel Pass is going to be an answer to the rise in demand, yet there are still many issues to solve, as the airline noted previously.

Etihad has reported a record $1.7 billion loss in 2020, with Tony Douglas, the Group CEO, saying that COVID-19 “Shook the very foundation of the aviation industry”. The airline said it is focused on optimization and awaiting recovery. 

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