Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial air transport
Only several months into the pandemic, the crisis was already the worst in the aviation industry's history, according to statements made in early 2020 by Airbus' Guillaume Faury,[1] EasyJet's Johan Lundgren,[2] United Airlines' Oscar Munoz,[3] Qantas' Alan Joyce,[4] and media outlets: the Financial Times,[5] The New York Times,[6] and The Independent.
Despite pleas from industry lobbyists to expand the regulations to allow travel credits, the U.S. Department of Transportation has reiterated that airlines are obligated to provide refunds for cancelled flights.
[8] In spite of the cancellations, thousands of nearly-empty "ghost flights" continued to fly in order to maintain landing slots.
[11] In 2022, recovery of travel demand exceeded airlines' ability to hire back pilots and ground staff quickly enough, causing several months of widespread delays and cancellations across the United States[12] and Europe.
[21] Once lockdown restrictions are eased, business aviation has an opportunity to capture premium passengers who might previously have chosen airlines, but who may prefer the social distancing afforded by a private jet.
[22] United States air charter travel strongly increased in February and March as airlines slashed schedules, making commercial flights increasingly unpredictable; however, some charter operators such as JetSuite subsequently saw a drastic drop in business as widespread stay-at-home orders took effect in April 2020.
[23] On 5 March 2020, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that the airline industry could lose between US$63 to 113 billion of revenues due to the reduced number of passengers.
[29] Due to the sudden and large losses of revenue, airlines began to hold out against refunding cancelled flights and tickets to conserve cash, despite government regulations.
[50] As US traffic recovers, networks are evolving towards more point-to-point transit to leisure destinations, bypassing major airline hubs while business travel is still lagging.
[51] The aggregation of the 66 largest airlines with public financials[a] showed a revenue falling by 60% from $658Bn in 2019 to $262Bn in 2020, while net profits went from $17bn to a $140bn loss, a $157bn decrease.
[54] Sun et al. 's study notes that during the pandemic the International Air Transport Association (IATA) recommends a distance of 1–2 m between passengers at all times.
[58] As the pandemic reduced demand for new jets in early 2020, manufacturers trimmed airliner production rates and were producing aircraft they are unable to deliver.
[80] Later the same day, Embraer asserted that it had satisfied the conditions for consolidation to proceed, and that it would seek compensation for Boeing's allegedly wrongful termination of the deal.
[82] The sharp and lasting decline in planned air travel throughout the pandemic had a beneficial effect of global climate change.
[159] Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, many airline tickets have been sold at discount[160] and some buyers attended spring break celebrations despite warnings to remain at home.
[162] According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pathogens do not spread easily on flights, but prolonged proximity still presents a danger of infection.
"[166] Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison subsequently announced that all international travellers who fly to Australia without proof of a COVID-19 vaccination will be required to quarantine at their own expense.
[172] On 25 November, separately from IATA's digital health pass initiative, five major airlines—United Airlines, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, Swiss International Air Lines, and JetBlue—announced the 1 December 2020 introduction of the CommonPass, which shows the results of passengers' COVID-19 tests.
It was designed as an international standard by the World Economic Forum and The Commons Project, and set up in such a way that it could also be used to record vaccination results in the future.
It standardises test results and aims to prevent forgery of vaccination records, while storing only limited data on a passenger's phone to safeguard their privacy.
The Danish College of General Practitioners also welcomed the project, saying that it doesn't force anyone to vaccinate, but encourages them to do so if they want to enjoy certain privileges in society.
Coveney stressed that "We do not want, following enormous efforts and sacrifices from people, to reintroduce the virus again through international travel, which is a danger if it is not managed right.
While Delta did not mandate vaccination, it said that unvaccinated employees enrolled in the company's healthcare plan would be charged $200 per month and would also have to be tested weekly for the virus.
