Travel Conditions Will Improve in 2023, According to Experts

If you’ve traveled on an airplane this year, or have even read the news about flying, you’re well aware that things have been rough. Flights canceled, extensive delays, luggage lost. At London’s Heathrow Airport, there was even a daily passenger capacity limit set to help deal with the influx of travelers and the shortage of staff.

In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said he expects it will be 2023 before the chaos of flying settles down.

“We’re not going to get back to normal utilization and normal staffing levels until next summer,” Kirby said. “The system just can’t support our flying. We’re going to be a smaller airline because the system cannot support it.”

Kirby is not the first to predict 2023 as the year the flight industry returns to normal. In 2020, the International Air Transport Association gave CNBC a similar projection for recovery time. Bloombergpublished a report in 2021 that also predicted travel won’t return to normal until 2023.

If you’re planning to take a trip before next year, make sure you check out Thrillist’s resources on what you’ll need to know if you deal with unexpected cancellations and delays.