Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific is urging governments across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region to swiftly implement relief measures to safeguard airport employment and connectivity. Revised ACI revenue forecasts show the 2020 impact of the pandemic now stands at US$23.9B for Asia-Pacificand US$5.7B for the Middle East, impacting airports of all sizes. A prolonged outbreak may result in a traffic volume loss in the range of 1.5 billion passengers for the Asia-Pacific region.
The airport industry in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East employs more than 63% of aviation industry jobs*, providing a variety of services ranging from airport management, maintenance, and security to retail outlets, food and beverage and duty-free concessionaires.
Taking into account the rapid developments, ACI estimates place the first quarter loss in Asia-Pacific in the range of US$5.6 billion, almost double earlier estimates, a large portion of which comes from the contraction in traffic as well as non-aeronautical revenue. The impact on the Middle East will generate a loss of approximately US$1 billion for the first quarter and at least double for the full year.
“The updated analysis paints an extremely challenging picture for our airport members who have already burnt through about 10% of total yearly revenues in just three months. Every passenger lost by an airline is equally a passenger lost by an airport,” said Stefano Baronci, Director General of ACI Asia-Pacific. “Relief measures are needed now for the sake of the entire aviation sector’s resilience to save jobs and allow economic recovery.”
The crisis is impacting airports of all sizes. Analysis of preliminary weekly passenger data from January to the middle of March at 12 major hubs in Asia-Pacific handling around 22% of traffic in the region, shows the increasing traffic deterioration, culminating in an average decrease in traffic by more than 80% by the second week of March compared to the same period in 2019.
A number of small airports in the region, those defined by handling less than one million passengers per year, are also heavily affected by the crisis and resulting drop in traffic. The role played by airport networks in several countries in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East will be essential to enable the long-term social and economic benefits of connectivity. ACI Asia-Pacific recommends dedicated funding to keep these small airports operating and ensuring their economic sustainability.
“Legislators have to carefully balance survival and revival measures, addressing both the urgency of short-term needs with smart initiatives that will also facilitate a strong recovery down the road. Several governments are still pondering which measures to apply as the crisis unfolds. ACI Asia-Pacific strongly advocates for policy measures that benefit all parties of the aviation sectors without prejudice in favouring airlines,” added Baronci.
