Airline traffic and bookings stall despite vaccine promise

PARIS (Reuters) - Airlines face a challenging wait for COVID-19 vaccines to end travel lockdowns, global industry body IATA said, as a recovery in traffic stalls and bookings dry up amid a resurgence of virus outbreaks and restrictions.

"We've seen some deterioration in bookings globally from the fourth quarter which was already looking weak," Brian Pearce, chief economist at the International Air Transport Association, said during an online presentation on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Laurence Frost, editing by Louise Heavens)