The return of curfews and population reconfinements in an increasing number of European countries should result in a further slowdown in air traffic. And exacerbate the risk of insolvency for many regional airports in the coming months. This is the alarmist assessment of ACI-Europe, which predicts that certain hubs could disappear altogether.
In a press release, the association predicts that "193 airports will face insolvency in the coming months if passenger traffic does not pick up by the end of the year." . Or more than a third of the 500 airports members of ACI Europe.
The ACI points out that these are mainly domestic airports. Nevertheless, they account for 277,000 jobs and contribute 12.4 billion euros to the continent's GDP, according to the association.
"The figures published today paint an extremely bleak picture. Eight months into the crisis and every airport in Europe is burning cash to stay afloat.
operating costs. Revenues do not come close to covering operating costs, let alone capital costs," explains Olivier Jankovec, CEO of ACI Europe, in a press release.
Many airports have in fact lost their commercial air routes or are managing very little regular traffic.
Abandonment of commercial routes but no closures
Yet the crisis raises the question of the business model for European airports. Are there too many airports on the continent? The question is becoming ever more important, at a time when the air transport industry is having to contend with ever more pressing environmental concerns.
In recent years, several airports have already seen their activity reduced to a minimum - following the bankruptcy of airlines. One example is Berne in Switzerland, which is too close to Basel and especially Zurich to survive. Or Prestwick near Glasgow. Recently, the Swedish airport operator Swedavia officially expressed its doubts about the commercial future of Stockholm Bromma airport.
In France, the question of survival of Metz/Nancy in Lorraineespecially with HOP's decision to discontinue its routes. The hub is close to the airports of Luxembourg, Frankfurt Hahn and even Saarbrücken. We are also thinking about airport duplication in the south-west FranceThese include Aurillac, Agen, Bergerac, Brive-la-Gaillarde, Pau and Tarbes-Lourdes. The geographical proximity of these hubs makes them economically unviable for commercial traffic.
" An airport with fewer than 700,000 passengers a year is doomed to chronic financial imbalanceIt's up to the regions to intervene in good management and evaluate the operating model," explains Nicolas Paulissen, General Delegate of the Union des Aéroports Françaises. "It's up to the regions to intervene to ensure good management and assess the operating model," he adds.
The current crisis could actually put an end to commercial passage for certain platforms. This does not necessarily mean closure. "An airport can specialise and prosper in a certain type of traffic, such as freight or business aviation. It can also be part of an aero-industrial activity zone," adds Nicolas Paulissen. It is therefore likely that some airports will eventually lose their scheduled services...
All affected by COVID
The major airports are also in turmoil, according to the association. Despite a drastic reduction in their costs, they have had to go into debt to build up war chests to cope with the emergency situation. On average, their debt now amounts to almost 60% of their revenue in a normal year. The debt of Top 20 European airports increased by 16 billion euros with the pandemic.
In September, European airport traffic was down by 73% on average compared with the same period in 2019 and 75% in mid-October, according to ACI Europe. Since the start of the year, 1.29 billion passengers have vanished into thin air in European airports. The containment measures do not appear to be the end of the tunnel for airlines and airports. On the contrary, the tunnel is getting longer with each passing week.
