Air travel has not been the “ogre” responsible for spreading coronavirus it has been portrayed as by policymakers, the chief executive of Aer Lingus has said. Donal Moriarty, Aer Lingus interim chief executive, said there had been an unfair “degree of toxicity and flight shaming” around international travel. Mr Moriarty said the narrative from policymakers “has caused people to feel unsafe” about flying. The impact of the pandemic had been “catastrophic” for the aviation industry, and Aer Lingus had faced a “very challenging” year, he said. Aer Lingus was still continuing to process requests for refunds from customers who had booked flights but had been unable to travel due to the pandemic, he said.

Source: The Irish Times December 05, 2020 12:33 UTC