By Sarah Young
LONDON (Reuters) – Global airline industry body IATA warned that the outlook for airlines has been weakened recently by tightening coronavirus restrictions but said it was preparing for a travel recovery later this year and would launch a digital travel pass in March.
IATA said the sector would continue to bleed cash this year and raised its forecast for total annual airline cash burn to between $75 billion and $95 billion, up from the $48 billion it had forecast in December but still well short of roughly $150 billion last year.
Despite mounting losses the industry focus is on how travel can restart at scale when borders are finally reopened and huge pent-up demand is released.
“We need to plan for the recovery,” IATA…