Willie Walsh, director general of Iata, said the lifting of US travel restrictions in November had “raised hopes that a surge in pent-up travel demand would buoy traffic” this winter.
“But the emergence of the Omicron variant panicked many governments into once again restricting or entirely removing the freedom to travel,” added Walsh, who also pointed out that the World Health Organization (WHO) had advised against the implementation of “blanket” travel bans.
