Air travel will be 'back to normal' in 12 months, says Emirates boss

During the Iata annual meeting in Boston, Clark dismissed fears the aviation industry is facing a long road to recovery and Covid will be "history" by 2023.

According to The Telegraph, forecasters have previously said it will take until the end of 2025 for passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Clark also predicted that business travel will recover faster than people believed.

"I would say that probably by the end of next year and certainly into 2023, this will be history unless there’s another variant," he reportedly said.

In August, Iata warned that the industry’s recovery from the pandemic could be “slowed” by the failure of some governments to allow members to repatriate funds.