IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jaitra/v92y2021ics0969699721000053.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

COVID-19 pandemic and prospects for recovery of the global aviation industry

Author

Listed:
  • Dube, Kaitano
  • Nhamo, Godwell
  • Chikodzi, David

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered a wave of economic decline across the world due to disruptions in the supply and demand chain for the travel market. This study examines potential recovery pathways from the global aviation industry following the severe negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using archival and secondary data mainly from Flightradar24, ICAO, IATA and EUROCONTROL, the study found that the pandemic inflicted a heavy toll on global aviation, which resulted in ratings downgrades, liquidation and bankruptcy of several airlines and airports due to severe cash burn instigated by travel restrictions. Although the industry is opening up, the recovery process seems much slower than anticipated, which could see more jobs and airlines failing in the absence of relevant support. The study recommends that as the sector opens up, it does so in a responsible manner, which puts measures that protect travellers, reduce costs, increase efficiency, and ensure a quality customer experience anchored on employees' health and customer safety. Recovery should also occur with the view to build back better in line with the provisions of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and at the same time responding to the dictates of Agenda 2030 on sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Suggested Citation

  • Dube, Kaitano & Nhamo, Godwell & Chikodzi, David, 2021. "COVID-19 pandemic and prospects for recovery of the global aviation industry," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaitra:v:92:y:2021:i:c:s0969699721000053
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2021.102022
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969699721000053
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2021.102022?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Ka-Yiu Fung & Japhet Sebastian Law & Louise Wing-Kam Ng, 2006. "Economic Contribution to Hong Kong of the Aviation Sector: A Value-Added Approach," Chinese Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(6), pages 19-38, December.
    2. Chung, Lap Hang, 2015. "Impact of pandemic control over airport economics: Reconciling public health with airport business through a streamlined approach in pandemic control," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 44, pages 42-53.
    3. Voltes-Dorta, Augusto & Pagliari, Romano, 2012. "The impact of recession on airports' cost efficiency," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 211-222.
    4. Stefano Maria Iacus & Fabrizio Natale & Carlos Satamaria & Spyridon Spyratos & Michele Vespe, 2020. "Estimating and Projecting Air Passenger Traffic during the COVID-19 Coronavirus Outbreak and its Socio-Economic Impact," Papers 2004.08460, arXiv.org, revised Apr 2020.
    5. Binici, Mahir & Hutchison, Michael & Miao, Evan Weicheng, 2020. "Market price effects of agency sovereign debt announcements: Importance of prior credit states," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 769-787.
    6. Nombulelo Gumata & Eliphas Ndou, 2019. "Capital Flows, Credit Markets and Growth in South Africa," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-30888-9, December.
    7. Christos Nicolaides & Luis Cueto-Felgueroso & Marta C González & Ruben Juanes, 2012. "A Metric of Influential Spreading during Contagion Dynamics through the Air Transportation Network," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(7), pages 1-10, July.
    8. Maneenop, Sakkakom & Kotcharin, Suntichai, 2020. "The impacts of COVID-19 on the global airline industry: An event study approach," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    9. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    10. Turner, Peter A. & Lim, Siew Hoon, 2015. "Hedging jet fuel price risk: The case of U.S. passenger airlines," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 44, pages 54-64.
    11. Giorgia Guglielmi, 2020. "Fast coronavirus tests: what they can and can’t do," Nature, Nature, vol. 585(7826), pages 496-498, September.
    12. Sun, Xiaoqian & Wandelt, Sebastian & Zhang, Anming, 2020. "How did COVID-19 impact air transportation? A first peek through the lens of complex networks," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    13. Muhammad A. Sadi & Joan C. Henderson, 2000. "The Asian economic crisis and the aviation industry: Impacts and response strategies," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 347-367, January.
    14. Elizabeth E. Bailey, 2002. "Aviation Policy: Past and Present," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 69(1), pages 12-20, July.
    15. Tretheway, Michael W. & Markhvida, Kate, 2014. "The aviation value chain: Economic returns and policy issues," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 3-16.
    16. Suau-Sanchez, Pere & Voltes-Dorta, Augusto & Cugueró-Escofet, Natàlia, 2020. "An early assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on air transport: Just another crisis or the end of aviation as we know it?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hiney, Noel & Efthymiou, Marina & Morgenroth, Edgar, 2023. "Impact of Covid-19 on Irish airport stakeholder relationships," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    2. Warnock-Smith, David & Graham, Anne & O'Connell, John F. & Efthymiou, Marina, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on air transport passenger markets: Examining evidence from the Chinese market," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    3. Sun, Xiaoqian & Wandelt, Sebastian & Zheng, Changhong & Zhang, Anming, 2021. "COVID-19 pandemic and air transportation: Successfully navigating the paper hurricane," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    4. Xue, Dabin & Liu, Zhizhao & Wang, Bing & Yang, Jian, 2021. "Impacts of COVID-19 on aircraft usage and fuel consumption: A case study on four Chinese international airports," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    5. Martins, António Miguel & Cró, Susana, 2022. "Airline stock markets reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak and vaccines: An event study," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    6. Hanson, Daniel & Toru Delibasi, Tuba & Gatti, Matteo & Cohen, Shamai, 2022. "How do changes in economic activity affect air passenger traffic? The use of state-dependent income elasticities to improve aviation forecasts," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    7. Chen, Yuting & Fuellhart, Kurt & Grubesic, Tony H. & Zhang, Shengrun & Witlox, Frank, 2024. "An analysis of the context factors influencing the diverse response of airports to COVID-19 using panel and group regression," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    8. Kuo, Pei-Fen & Brawiswa Putra, I Gede & Setiawan, Faizal Azmi & Wen, Tzai-Hung & Chiu, Chui-Sheng & Sulistyah, Umroh Dian, 2022. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on O-D flow and airport networks in the origin country and in Northeast Asia," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    9. Cui, Qiang & Hu, Yu-xin & Yu, Li-ting, 2022. "Can the aviation industry achieve carbon emission reduction and revenue growth simultaneously under the CNG2020 strategy? An empirical study with 25 benchmarking airlines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    10. Liu, Anyu & Kim, Yoo Ri & O'Connell, John Frankie, 2021. "COVID-19 and the aviation industry: The interrelationship between the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the frequency of flights on the EU market," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    11. Andreana, Gianmarco & Gualini, Andrea & Martini, Gianmaria & Porta, Flavio & Scotti, Davide, 2021. "The disruptive impact of COVID-19 on air transportation: An ITS econometric analysis," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    12. Agnieszka Barczak & Izabela Dembińska & Dorota Rozmus & Katarzyna Szopik-Depczyńska, 2022. "The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Air Transport Passenger Markets-Implications for Selected EU Airports Based on Time Series Models Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-19, April.
    13. Chen, Yuting & Fuellhart, Kurt & Grubesic, Tony H. & Zhang, Shengrun & Witlox, Frank, 2023. "Diverging spatiotemporal responses to COVID-19Â by airports: Evidence from China," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    14. Su, Junbiao & Wu, Hanjun & Tsui, Kan Wai Hong & Fu, Xiaowen & Lei, Zheng, 2023. "Aviation resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of the European aviation market," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    15. Morlotti, Chiara & Redondi, Renato, 2023. "The impact of COVID-19 on airlines’ price curves," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    16. Christos Nicolaides & Demetris Avraam & Luis Cueto‐Felgueroso & Marta C. González & Ruben Juanes, 2020. "Hand‐Hygiene Mitigation Strategies Against Global Disease Spreading through the Air Transportation Network," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(4), pages 723-740, April.
    17. Yiu, Cho Yin & Ng, Kam K.H. & Yu, Simon C.M. & Yu, Chun Wah, 2022. "Sustaining aviation workforce after the pandemic: Evidence from Hong Kong aviation students toward skills, specialised training, and career prospects through a mixed-method approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 179-192.
    18. Sun, Xiaoqian & Wandelt, Sebastian & Zhang, Anming, 2021. "Technological and educational challenges towards pandemic-resilient aviation," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 104-115.
    19. Salesi, Vinolia Kilinaivoni & Kan Tsui, Wai Hong & Fu, Xiaowen & Gilbey, Andrew, 2022. "Stakeholder perceptions of the impacts of aviation subsidies in the South Pacific Region," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    20. Santos, Luca J. & Oliveira, Alessandro V.M. & Aldrighi, Dante Mendes, 2021. "Testing the differentiated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on air travel demand considering social inclusion," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jaitra:v:92:y:2021:i:c:s0969699721000053. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-air-transport-management/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.