Amidst global concern about the coronavirus pandemic, officials in the airport industry said some areas of the globe could see as much as a 24 percent reduction in traffic and revenue.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a global pandemic as more than 124,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, were reported around the world, with about 4,600 of them proving fatal.
According to a report by the Airports Council International World, as a response to the outbreak, global airports can expect to see a reduction of about 12 percent in the number of passengers flying in the first quarter of 2020. In some areas hit harder by the virus, like China where it is thought to have originated, ACI projects a decrease by nearly a quarter.
“Asia-Pacific is the most impacted region with passenger traffic volumes down 24 percentage points as compared to previous business as usual forecasts for the first quarter of 2020. Europe and the Middle East are also expected to be significantly impacted by reductions in traffic. North America is expected to see similar declines in the second quarter of 2020 with recent service reductions just announced last week in North America and with more expected in the coming weeks,” ACI said in a press release.
The effect of lower passenger traffic and increased cancelled flights would mean a reduction in revenue for airports. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, first-quarter revenues for airports globally were projects to be nearly $39.5 billion. New projections estimate a loss of $4.3 billion globally.
The organization called for those in the air travel industry to work together while responding to the outbreak.
“The airport industry recognizes that all stakeholders of the aviation ecosystem are heavily impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, and as such favours a strengthened cooperation between airports, airlines, and regulatory authorities as the industry responds to the outbreak,” ACI World Director General Angela Gittens said in a statement. “The sudden shock represented by the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting passenger and cargo traffic worldwide, markedly in Asia-Pacific and significantly reducing airport revenues.”