Closures could cost 277,000 jobs and 12.4 billion Euros of GDP.
October 27th, 2020 - Europe faces losing a significant part of its air transport system - unless national Governments step up to provide the required support.
Data published by ACI Europe show a 73% year-on-year decline in passenger numbers in September bringing the total volume of lost passengers since January 2020 to 1.29 billion. In addition, as of mid-October, passenger traffic was down 75% from the same period last year.
Following these dire numbers, many European airlines have slashed their capacity plans for the reminder of the year and into 2021. Most of the airports facing closure are regional hubs that are crucial to local economies supporting thousands of local jobs and don't have access to the same level of funding as national airports. However, according to ACI Europe, larger European airports are not immune from the critical financial risk. They have had to slash costs and borrow from financial markets in order to build a war chest large enough to endure the cash burn forecasted over the next year at least.
“In the midst of a second wave, ensuring safe air travel continues to be our primary concern. It’s crucial that we reduce the risks of importation and dissemination as much as possible. But surely we can do a much better job of reducing those risks by testing air passengers rather than with quarantines that cannot be enforced.” Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe
Jankovec goes on to say that the figures published today paint a dramatically bleak picture and the European Governments’ current imposition of quarantines rather than testing is bringing Europe’s airports closer to the brink with every day that passes.
ACI Europe represent over 500 airports in 46 European countries and members facilitate over 90% of commercial air traffic in Europe. Based in Brussels, ACI Europe lead and serve the European airport industry and maintain strong links with other ACI regions throughout the world.
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Karen Lake - Senior Contributor
Karen is a senior contributor at TravelIndustryReporter.com and brings with her a wealth of knowledge about the travel industry. Karen is a native of the USA and has held various media and PR positions over the last 10 years. Karen is a graduate of Washington State University.
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