Global Airline Employment and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts, Comparisons, and Implications for the Future

This chapter explores the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on airline employment from the onset of the pandemic until 2023. Using data from the International Civil Aviation Organization, this chapter evaluates the employment effects of the pandemic across hundreds of airlines around the globe and provides an examination of the job loss and rebound following the onset of the pandemic. A comparative analysis of the global employment changes in varying job types – including flight operations, maintenance, and ticketing – is presented. From the sample of global airlines, results indicate that airline employment was reduced by over 180,000 employees in 2020 with maintenance personnel experiencing the greatest reduction in employment. These results are discussed in the context of government intervention and industry-targeted stimulus programs. A case study of the US airline labor market provides a more detailed examination of the employment changes across various airlines and employees. These results suggest that employees at low-cost carriers have fared better than full-service national carriers; however, airline employees were not equally affected with women’s employment more greatly impacted, and slower to recover, than men’s employment. The transformations in labor relations and industrial action are also explored as air travel demand has rebounded and an anticipated shortage of skilled airline workers threatens the industry. Finally, these changes in employment and labor actions are compared with the effects from the Great Recession and September 11, 2001, and the implications for the future of the industry are discussed.