Video conferencing forever? The aviation industry does not believe that people are permanently flying less than before Corona. But patience is required for the optimistic scenarios.
Whether in the Balearic Islands, the Adriatic or the Aegean: tens of thousands of Germans are venturing out into the sun again this year. For many, it is the first flight since the coronavirus spread across Europe. But it will probably not be as crowded at the airports for a long time as before.
This year, a third of the traffic performance of 2019 could be achieved, provided the recent recovery continues, as the Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry announced on Tuesday in Berlin.
With further vaccinations, declining travel restrictions and a robust economy, 80 percent of the pre-crisis numbers will be there in 2022. “The level of 2019, however, would only be reached by 2025.” The pandemic put a lasting damper on the years of growth in air traffic. Especially business travelers are still missing.
According to the association, airports and airlines have cut every tenth job and hope that no further cuts will follow. “If the economic development continues as shown in our scenarios, we do not believe that there will be massive further job cuts,” said CEO Matthias von Randow.
In the first half of 2021, fewer people had flown from German airports than 50 years ago. “We’re practically in a year and a half lockdown in aviation,” said von Randow. An upturn has only been apparent since June. “The traffic is increasing significantly.” In international traffic, half of the offer is back, especially flights for vacationers to the so-called warm water regions on the Mediterranean.
While the freight business is booming, from an industry perspective, passenger traffic still has a lot of room for improvement. “There is still a lack of guests who fly to Germany for trade fairs, congresses and city trips,” it said. However, the companies do not believe that they will stay away permanently and instead use video conferences. A large part of the intercontinental demand has fallen victim to entry restrictions in the USA and China, for example. Many countries are also catching up economically, and there is a new need for air travel, said von Randow.
“The Corona crisis hit aviation like no other industry,” said the aviation expert of the FDP parliamentary group, Bernd Reuther. The federal government should therefore reverse the increase in the air traffic tax – also because it is more important that companies use the money for more climate-friendly technologies.
According to its own statements, the industry is keeping an eye on the goal of gradually making flying and flight operations CO2-neutral even during the crisis. From the point of view of the left’s transport policy-maker, Jörg Cezanne, there must be no return to pre-crisis levels for air traffic, especially when it comes to climate protection.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
