INTERNATIONAL. Groupe ADP and local authorities have announced the suspension of passenger traffic at Amman Queen Alia International (Jordan), Riga (Latvia) and Ohrid (Macedonia) airports under measures to combat the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Amman, the gateway to Jordan, will halt flights from tomorrow until further notice, while Riga, which serves the Latvian capital, will suspend international flights from tomorrow until at least 14 April.
Of the airport closures Groupe ADP said: “For the international platforms of Groupe ADP, [there will be] a complete closure of the airports of Amman in Jordan, Ohrid in Macedonia and Riga in Latvia. Operations with very low traffic are expected for the group’s airports in Tunisia, in Saudi Arabia and in Madagascar. The airports in Turkey and Georgia remain open at this stage even if infrastructure optimisations are considered to accompany the decline in traffic.”
The moves are just some of the containment measures begin taken across the Groupe ADP network. As reported, shops and restaurants at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Orly airports have also closed.
Having announced the planned closure of Orly 2, ADP said it expected several more terminals to close at Charles de Gaulle in coming days, notably Terminal 2E Hall M, Terminal 2G and Terminal 3.
In Paris, from 1-14 March passenger traffic has fallen by -29% year-on-year. The company said: “Our 2020 traffic assumptions are not relevant anymore. Groupe ADP considers that it will not be possible to reach the 2020 EBITDA targets if the observed trend on the first 14 days of March should continue.”
The company said that it is now projecting a loss to group EBITDA of €190 million in the year (€1,772 million group-wide in 2019). This is based on an estimated decrease in the Paris airports of €300 million across aviation and retail activities.
The assumptions behind this are: (i) a drop in traffic in Paris of -25% between the months of March and June; (ii) a decline in traffic across AIG and TAV Airports locations of -25% between the months of March and July. “Given past events, the traffic recovery length assumption would be three months,” said the company.
Groupe ADP has also announced support measures for partners.
It said: “Groupe ADP suspends, as of today, parking fees for aircraft immobilised in Paris because of the crisis. The rental and leasing expenses for premises located in the closed terminals will not be due for the closure period of these terminals. Groupe ADP will take into consideration the difficulties endured by its customers affected by the effects of the outbreak to adapt payment conditions.”
Aéroports de Paris – Groupe ADP Chairman and CEO Augustin de Romanet said: “Facing an exceptional and global situation, Groupe ADP is mobilised to mitigate the operational and economic consequences of this outbreak of its platforms in Paris and abroad.
“An unprecedented operational and financial plan is launched, including support measures for our customers. Groupe ADP will keep monitoring very closely the evolution of the situation and will adapt this action plan accordingly. I salute the spirit of responsibility of all players of the air industry and the strong mobilisation of the group’s staff.”
