INTERNATIONAL. Airports Council International (ACI) World today published analysis showing that the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on airport traffic and revenues will still be deeply felt through 2021, despite some signs of recovery.
Compared to 2019 levels, the passenger decline worldwide is forecast to be -43.6% by year end 2021. The first quarter is expected to show little signs of improvement compared to Q4 2020. As the vaccination rollout and vaccine uptake increases, more passengers are expected to return to travel with the biggest surge in Q3 and Q4 2021, said ACI World.
While international passenger traffic volume will still lag behind domestic traffic in 2021, it is forecast to end the year above 1.6 billion or 43.4% of 2019 levels. Globally, domestic traffic will continue to increase in 2021 to reach close to 3.5 billion passengers by the end of 2021 corresponding to 65.6% of the 2019 level.
The full analysis – in the Advisory Bulletin: The impact of COVID-19 on the airport business and path to recovery – also shows that 4.7 billion fewer passengers are forecast to travel by year-end 2021 compared to the previous projected baseline. This is estimated to equate to a loss in revenue of more than US$94 billion by the end of 2021, cutting in half expectations compared to the projected baseline.
As prospects for a recovery in 2021 begin to emerge, ACI World estimates that different regions of the world will recover at different rates. At country level, markets having significant domestic traffic are expected to recover in 2023 to pre-COVID-19 levels while markets with a significant share of international traffic are unlikely to return to 2019 levels until 2024 or even 2025 in some cases.
ACI World has said an “interoperable health data trust framework” to facilitate safe border reopening and cross-border travel must be established to support this recovery. ACI said it is supportive of any system which will allow testing and vaccination data to be shared consistently, effectively, and in a way that protects the personal data of those that use it.
“The world is embarking on the biggest vaccination campaign in history, and we see positive indications in countries with high rates of vaccination and ACI World has discerned an escalation of these encouraging signs and prospects for recovery with a surge in travel in the second half of 2021 expected,” ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said.
“Despite this, COVID-19 remains an existential crisis for airports, airlines and their commercial partners and we need support and sensible policy decisions from governments to ensure that aviation can fuel the global economic recovery.
“We hope an upsurge in confidence in air travel provided by vaccination and safety measures should result in the number of people traveling outside of their countries will start this Spring and significantly increase by mid-year.
“Aviation recovery will not take off, however, without a coordinated and globally-consistent approach to vaccination and testing, coupled with a safe and interoperable methods of sharing testing and vaccination information.”
On the economic impact, because of uncoordinated travel restrictions combined with small domestic markets, Europe is forecast to remain the most affected region in absolute terms with an estimated fall in revenues of more than US$37.5 billion for the full year 2021 compared to 2019. In relative terms, the Middle East and Europe are forecast to suffer the biggest hits with decreases of -58.9% and -58.1% respectively. Asia Pacific is the region with comparatively the least impact, but is still expected to experience a sharp decrease of -40.3% against the projected baseline.
To support recovery, ACI World recently published the second edition of its Aviation Operations during COVID-19 – Business Restart and Recovery, which provides updated best practice examples and guidance for both initial restart and longer-term recovery. This followed the release of updated policy recommendations to States, the Take-Off Guidance Document, and the Manual on Cross Border Testing and Risk Management published by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council Aviation Recovery Task Force.
“The priority for airports has always been to protect the health and welfare of travellers, staff, and the public and ICAO’s role in providing globally-consistent guidance will help to lay the foundation for the industry’s long-term and sustained recovery,” said de Oliveira.