When the Biden administration lifted restrictions on transatlantic air travel in November, many in the airline industry saw it as the beginning of the end of the novel coronavirus crisis. After all, with one of the biggest air transport markets back online, wouldn't other governments likely end their own travel bans, finally giving airlines everywhere the opportunity for a comeback? Some travel bans will be eased, certainly. But as the industry heads into 2022, more signs are emerging that it will be a long and winding road back to full recovery, with unpredictable speed bumps that could slow trends temporarily and regionally at least. Parts of Europe have seen an unprecedented surge in new coronavirus cases over the past few weeks, leading to some new lockdowns. The U.S. government warned against travel to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Hungary as a result-an alert typically reserved for countries fighting civil wars. Restrictions remain in place in large parts of the Asia-Pacific region, even though China is expected to open up conditionally for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. And globally, discovery of the COVID-19 omicron variant has led to a new wave of restrictions and border closures, renewing concerns that the recovery of the air transport industry may stall or even be reversed.
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