Walsh has been nominated for Iata’s top director general role, with incumbent Alexandre de Juniac to stand down at the end of March 2021.

A decision will be made at Iata’s annual general meeting on Tuesday (24 November) where Walsh will be formally recommended for the role by Iata’s board of governors.

Iata confirmed on Monday (23 November) De Juniac had signalled his intention to stand down "several months ago".

De Juniac said Iata had "set the course" to restore air connectivity amid the pandemic through testing, adding that the industry was "well into preparations" to help distribute a Covid vaccine.

"In parallel, we have restructured Iata to survive the crisis and be ready to support the industry recovery with an organisation dimensioned to serve a smaller industry," said De Juniac.

"We have a motivated team that is determined to get the job done. The building blocks for an industry recovery are in place.

"Now is the right time to hand over Iata’s leadership for the long process of recovery."

De Juniac joined Iata in September 2016 from Air France-KLM, where he was chairman and chief executive.

“Alexandre has led our industry in extraordinary times," said Carsten Spohr, chair of the Iata board of governors and chief executive of Lufthansa.

"Under his leadership, Iata has become a stronger and an even more relevant organisation."

Spohr added he was convinced Walsh would be a great successor.