EUROPE. “Everybody was counting on a recovery beginning this Summer but we are getting a cold shower now as we go into reverse.” That’s how ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec described the up-to-date picture for air travel in the region in an interview with The Moodie Davitt Report. The full article appears in The Moodie Davitt Magazine for September, out this week.
After an initial surge in July, traffic performance from mid-August into the early days of September underlines the relative downturn. Passenger volumes that were down by -67% year-on-year as of 30 August fell by -73% as of mid-September, down on the ‘peak recovery’ figure of -65% in the week of 16 August.
All of this, ACI Europe has said, is the result of “uncoordinated and disproportionate travel restrictions” across the region.
Jankovec said: “We are heading towards a second dip. In August we saw the recovery progressing, though at a much slower pace than in July. Airlines are now withdrawing capacity increases they pledged for this period, so things will get worse before they get better. The holiday season is over so those people who flew in July and August won’t fly in September. We don’t have a stable situation.”
He blamed “unpredictable and erratic behaviour” among states and their “irrational decisions about travel restrictions”. He noted: “This is against a backdrop of the more worrying epidemiological situation in Europe, with infections rising in many states and regions.
“Air travel is being demonised by governments. Yet leading authorities such as the European Centres for Disease Control or the World Health Organization don’t see it like that. Their advice is that where there are significant levels of community transmission, border restrictions are not effective. In fact the impact on livelihoods far exceeds any positives in fighting the epidemic. Many governments in Europe are acting in blatant contradiction to this advice.”
For airports, the crisis will only become deeper as uncertainty remains for potential travellers. In early August, Jankovec warned that if the recovery did not accelerate significantly, “many airports will simply run out of money.” Nearly two months on, the situation has become even more acute.
Jankovec said: “All airports are burning cash and the level of revenues is far from covering operating costs, even if they have reduced these where they can. Airports have also reduced capital expenditure. If this situation goes on until the end of the year, it will quite simply be a question of business continuity for many of them.”
*The Moodie Davitt Magazine for September, featuring an in-depth interview with Olivier Jankovec, will appear shortly.
