Doyle said the roll-out of vaccines made him optimistic BA would be back flying this summer, but added the recovery depends on what is said on April 12.

He wants government to give its backing to health apps that can be used to verify a person’s negative COVID-19 test results and vaccination status.

Apps will be key to facilitating travel at scale, the industry has said. Airline staff checking paperwork takes 20 minutes per passenger and is not practical if large numbers of passengers return.