Top executives of Emirates and Etihad — two of the Middle East's biggest airlines — have said passenger demand may not return to pre-coronavirus crisis levels until 2023, according to AFP.

"About 85 per cent of the world's airlines could face financial distress by the end of the year without government aid," Emirates President Tim Clark and Etihad CEO Tony Douglas told a video conference hosted by the US-UAE Business Council last week.

Clark and Douglas reiterated their beliefs that until an effective vaccine for the Covid-19 respiratory disease becomes widely available, how passengers fly will be different, a statement by the council said.