Europe’s airports post -98.6% fall in April passenger traffic

Olivier Jankovec: “If some air traffic and revenue generation capabilities are not restored in time for the peak Summer months, we will see airports across Europe going bust”

EUROPE. Airports Council International (ACI) Europe today revealed that the region’s airports posted a -98.6% drop in passenger traffic year-on-year in April. The European network of 500+ airports welcomed only 2.8 million passengers during April, 202 million fewer than a year earlier.

ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec said: “Europe’s airports are on their knees. They have lost more than 315 million passengers since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak and they will pass exceed half a billion passengers lost before the end of May. All their revenue sources have essentially dried up, most of their staff furloughed and investments stopped – yet cash is still flowing out in running costs as most have remained at least partially open.”

Jankovec warned: “This cannot last much longer before large scale and irreversible damage is inflicted not just on staff, local sub-contractors and business partners – but also on air connectivity, tourism and regional economies. If some air traffic and revenue generation capabilities are not restored in time for the peak Summer months, we will see airports across Europe going bust, with a far-reaching domino effect upon local communities.”

The airports body noted that smaller regional airports that were already facing structural financial viability challenges before COVID-19 (71% of airports with under 1 million passengers were loss-making pre-crisis) are the most exposed.

The high seasonality of their business – with the Summer holiday period accounting for up to 70% of their revenues – is compounded by the risks of not seeing travel and border restrictions eased over the coming weeks. However, as Jankovec pointed out: “Beyond smaller regional airports, business continuity is a systemic issue for the airport industry – with larger airports across Europe also fighting for survival.”

As part of its Off the Ground project, ACI Europe called today for the European Commission to revisit State aid rules beyond the temporary framework already in place to respond to COVID-19 by:

  • Clarifying that the maintenance of airport operations to accommodate essential air traffic during the COVID-19 crisis falls within the public remit and can thus be financially compensated by States without being considered as State aid.
  • Provide temporary derogations to the 2014 Aviation State Aid Guidelines to increase the possibility for airports with up to 3 million passengers to receive public financing.

The organisation also called for coordination on sanitary measures at airports as travel restrictions are eased. It said that aligned policies within Europe should include the lifting of quarantine measures for incoming travellers.

With guidelines from the European Commission expected, Jankovec commented: “There can be no compromise when it comes to the health and safety of passengers and staff. COVID-19 confronts us with an unprecedented challenge as a vaccine or an effective treatment are still distant prospects. Just as everyone is doing in our daily lives, we must adapt on an ongoing basis to operate our airports and protect livelihoods in ways that reduce transmission risks as much as possible. This means looking at the most effective combination of measures, which must be fully coherent across all transport modes and tourism activities.”

Strict physical distancing at airports will be “a significant limiting factor for the entire air transport system”, said ACI Europe, if imposed from check-in to security to boarding (Heathrow pictured)

ACI Europe said the combination of measures should include wearing masks and the availability of disinfectant gels in terminals. It should feature increased cleaning and sanitising protocols for airport facilities, improved ventilation and air conditioning quality, personal protection equipment and new procedures for staff, and physical distancing.

ACI Europe noted that while strict physical distancing is feasible with a few flights and low passenger volumes, “it means airports will be constrained to operate with just 20% to 40% at most of their capacity (depending on their layout) as soon as demand and traffic increase. It then involves queues of hundreds of metres at each of the key operational airport processes such as check-in, security checks, border control, boarding and disembarkation. Strict physical distancing at airports is thus a significant limiting factor for the entire air transport system”.

It added: “Strict physical distancing at airports also comes with negative health consequences. It requires passengers to come earlier to the airport and spend more time there. This results in more crowded facilities – which can defeat its intended purpose.”

Jankovec concluded: “As long as physical distancing will be part of deconfinement strategies for all transport modes, airports should be required to ensure it in ways that are operationally feasible and under conditions that are effective at reducing transmission risks. Airports need their health authorities to work cooperatively with them to adapt physical distancing to their specific layout and operations.”

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