Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker said that recovery of global travel demand from the repercussions of the Corona Virus pandemic will take years, and that many business travelers may never return.

Al-Baker, who runs one of the largest airlines in the Middle East, was quoted by Reuters on Monday, as saying he would be "very surprised" if the demand for travel recovers before 2023 or 2024.

Al Baker also added that many business travelers may never return after they used to work remotely, as well as the impact of job losses and corporate closures.

The state-owned Qatar Airways is among the few airlines that have continued to operate regular flights in light of the general isolation measures aimed at containing the new Corona virus, as they kept the flights to around 30 destinations.

Qatar Airways said - this month - it will gradually resume flights to some of the 165 destinations it was flying to before the outbreak of the virus, as it hopes to fly to 80 destinations by the end of June.

Stuck around the world
, Akbar al-Baker told Reuters by phone, "I am sure there will be a request." He expects the airline will be able to hold between 50% and 60% of the seats, adding, "There are still a lot of people stranded around the world, and people want To visit their loved ones. "

Airlines are exploring ways to safely operate services and give passengers confidence in flying before relaxing restrictions.

Some discuss leaving the middle seats empty during flights to enable social spacing, while some companies require passengers to wear masks during flights.

Al Baker said that Qatar Airways would encourage passengers to maintain a safe distance between them during the flight.

To manage a slow recovery phase, Qatar Airways will reduce its fleet by a quarter, with the suspension of operations of some aircraft, the return of other aircraft to lessors, and the reduction of flights.

The airline had 203 Airbus and Boeing aircraft - wide and narrow - as of March 31, 2019, the date of its most recent disclosure of financial results.