Plane passengers could have to wait four hours to board aircraft as medical checks are carried out when lockdown ends, according to an expert.
The aviation industry has been badly hit by coronavirus, with airlines forced to ground their planes and mass redundancies likely.
And an expert has warned that even when flights do resume, it could take five years to return to normality, with passengers made to endure "uncomfortable conditions."
Customers will be made to wear masks, it is believed, and most planes will only be 20% full - raising questions about commercial viability - reports Mirror Online.
It comes as British Airways said it may have to make 12,000 staff redundant, and Virgin Atlantic appealed for a £500 million government bailout.
Andrew Charlton, managing director of Aviation Advocacy told The Times : "Even if it starts raining vaccines tonight, we are still looking at two years at least to get back to levels seen before the outbreak.
"And it is probably going to be more like five years.
"There will be fewer flights, fewer seats available, prices will go up and there will be very uncomfortable conditions because of the demand to wear personal protective equipment and maintain social distancing."
He added: "Whereas we used to be able to turn up at the airport an hour or two before departure, we could see something as horrible as four hours as health checks are added to the usual palaver of check-in, security and immigration."
Last night it was confirmed that the amount of people using their cars has risen to the highest level since the country went into lockdown.
NHS England director Yvonne Doyle described the rise as "slightly worrying", and called on people to stay at home.
The government has said it will not consider lifting the lockdown until they can be certain there won't be a second peak that would overwhelm the NHS.
If this begins to happen, strict restrictions will be put back in place again.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said new contact tracing measures will be the key to easing the measures currently in place.
