Air transport industry and Covid-19

Read the key messages from the study and download the PDF for all the insights. 

• Air transport accounts for 2.4% of world GDP, about US$1.8 trillion, with over 10 million direct employees.
• In Italy it represents 1.8% of national production and employment.
• The entire air transport chain, from aircraft manufacturers to airlines to airport management companies, is characterised by cost rigidity, which means it is particularly exposed to the current liquidity crisis caused by the freeze in the sector.
• Over the last five months, due to the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic and subsequent lockdowns in different geographical areas, air traffic has contracted unprecedentedly.
• In March alone, European airports recorded a loss of 106 million passengers. During the global crisis of 2008, 100 million passengers were lost in 12 months.
• An initial estimate of the effects of the crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic calculates an overall loss of more than half of the value produced in 2019.
• Once the acute phase is over, industry professionals will have to deal with a complex transition phase. The need to put in place suitable operational, health and safety measures to meet new standards of social distancing will require substantial investment for new configurations of aircraft and airport space.
• After the intense privatisation processes that have affected the sector, a change of course seems to be emerging which is seeing a new direct engagement by States with flag companies and an acceleration of the consolidation process of companies.