- Combined revenue loss of $36.4bn forecast for 2020, with a drop of 2bn passengers
- Moderate signs of recovery in China’s domestic traffic
- Call for tax relief and loan guarantees by regional governments
Asia-Pacific airports face a 2020 year-end revenue loss of 59% and Middle East airports a 53% loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
That is the latest forecast in Airports Council International (ACI) World’s updated economic impact assessment.
ACI said that airports in these two regions are predicted to lose a combined $36.4bn for the full year 2020. For both Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, this means 10% more losses than forecast one month ago.
This outcome is the result of a “significant drop” in passenger traffic with the two regions jointly standing to lose 2bn passengers, about 400m more passengers than previously forecast.
In 2018, ACI Asia-Pacific airports handled 3.65bn passengers and 57.7m tonnes of cargo.
Stefano Baronci, director general, ACI Asia-Pacific, said: “We are observing moderate signs of recovery in China’s domestic traffic, which is encouraging. But we are entering the most critical stage of the year for our industry.
“We expect the second quarter of the year to be substantially more challenging than the first quarter, especially in countries with predominantly international traffic profiles. Rebuilding people’s confidence to travel again will take time.”
Preliminary April traffic data from 26 airports in the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East confirms the “current challenges and negative trends” faced by the regions’ airports, said ACI.
On aggregate, the traffic at these airports remain “rock bottom,” recording a year-on-year traffic decline of 92% in the four weeks of April.
ACI Asia-Pacific has welcomed efforts by governments in the region who have provided relief packages to the aviation industry as a whole and airports in particular.
However, in light of the updated financial forecasts, the airport association is calling on governments to introduce additional relief packages including:
- taxation relief, including alleviation of payroll taxes, corporate taxes, concession fees waivers or other government incomes from the industry
- loans, loan guarantees or direct support to maintain financial liquidity across the aviation ecosystem.
Added Baronci: “With concrete data in hand for the rest of the year, it is evident that airports will struggle to survive. Governments in Asia Pacific and the Middle East need to do more.
“ACI Asia-Pacific encourages governments in both regions to look at other competitive markets, such as the US which has pledged $10bn in rescue funds to airports or Brazil which has allowed for the deferment of airport concession fee payments by airport operators until the end of the year.”
ACI Asia-Pacific, one of the five regions of the Airports Council International (ACI), is based in Hong Kong and represents 113 members operating 602 airports in 49 countries/ territories in Asia-Pacific and the Middle-East.
