"This is a retrograde and disappointing development," Walsh said in a statement issued by the International Air Transport Association, which counts most of the world's major airlines among its 293 members.
"Let's wait and see, because obviously there is a huge disconnect between what the manufacturers say they're going to produce and what the airlines decide to buy," Walsh, previously head of British Airways owner IAG, told Reuters.
“International passenger traffic was down almost 89% and is showing no signs of recovery in the current environment,” IATA’s new director general Willie Walsh said at a presentation on Wednesday.
Singapore will accept the International Air Transport Association (IATA) mobile travel pass for pre-departure checks, where travelers can get clearance to fly to and enter Singapore by showing a smartphone application containing their data from accredited laboratories.
The pass was successfully tested by Singapore Airlines . More than 20 carriers, including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Malaysia Airlines, are also testing the pass.
"We understand that the situation of the leasing companies is difficult," IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac told Reuters. "But combining the two to have a big player (in) a very dominant situation is not good news for us."
AerCap declined to comment on the remarks by de Juniac, who is stepping down from IATA at the end of the month.
IATA raised its forecast for total airline cash burn for 2021 to between $75 billion and $95 billion, up from the $48 billion it had forecast in December.
Britain's Heathrow Airport said on Wednesday it had plunged to a 2 billion pound loss in 2020 and that digital health checks were now vital to building any kind of recovery in international travel.
“To re-open borders without quarantine and restart aviation governments need to be confident that they are effectively mitigating the risk of importing COVID-19. This means having accurate information on passengers’ COVID-19 health status,” states IATA on its website.