The Head of Scandinavian airline (SAS), on Friday offered a dismal forecast for the pick-up in air travel, saying demand was not due to reach pre-pandemic levels until 2022.
According to Chief Executive Rickard Gustafson, though no one can foresee exactly how passenger demand will evolve in the coming months and years, it is clear that it will take a much longer time than previously anticipated.
“In our view, it will take until 2022 before demand starts to reach pre-Covid-19 levels,” he said.
The airline said it flew 94,000 scheduled passengers in April, a drop of about 95 per cent compared to a year ago. However, SAS only operated a limited network in Norway and Sweden due to the pandemic.
Earlier, SAS said it would commence processes to cut about half its workforce, or 5,000 full-time positions. The average notice period was six months.