ACI EUROPE has warned of such fundamental risks to business continuity that an estimated 193 airports face insolvency in the coming months if passenger traffic does not start to recover by the year end. These airports between them facilitate 277 thousand jobs and €12.4 billion of European GDP.
ACI Europe is calling for government support to protect its airport infrastructure. New data shows a year-on-year decrease of 73% in passenger traffic at Europe’s airports in September, as well as the loss of an additional 172.5 million passengers in September bringing the total volume of lost passengers since January 2020 to 1.29 billion.
As of mid-October, passenger traffic stood at 75% down from the same period last year, reaching an 80% decrease for airports in the EU/EEA/Switzerland/UK footprint - a clear downward trajectory.
The permanence of severe restrictions to cross border travel into the Winter season has considerably worsened the traffic outlook, as reflected in ACI EUROPE’s latest forecast. Many airlines have slashed their capacity plans for the reminder of the year and into 20212.
ACI states that airports have cut costs to the bone and have resorted to the financial markets to shore up balance sheets and build emergency war chests. But warns that this sudden increase in debt - an additional €16 billion for the top 20 European airports - is equivalent to nearly 60% of airport revenues in a normal year, which jeopardises their future.
Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE, said “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.”
“The figures paint a dramatically bleak picture. 8 months into the crisis, all of Europe’s airports are burning through cash to remain open, with revenues far from covering the costs of operations, let alone capital costs. Governments’ current imposition of quarantines rather than testing is bringing Europe’s airports closer to the brink with every day that passes.”