Aviation industry could take most of this decade to fully recover from Covid impact, report warns
PwC Ireland has estimated that it could take the bulk of this decade for the global aviation industry to fully recover.
Air passenger numbers might not rebound to pre-pandemic levels until after 2025, a date initially anticipated, a report has warned.
That suggests the global aviation industry may still take the bulk of this decade to fully recover from the damage caused by the Covid crisis.
Industry group the International Air Travel Association — IATA — has forecast a 50% increase in global air passenger numbers this year, with a return to pre-Covid levels between 2023 and 2025.
However, a new report by PwC suggests current growth trends indicate passenger traffic will still be 10% below pre-Covid levels by 2025, with a full recovery thus unlikely until “later in the decade”.
“The majority of the traffic recovery seen to date has involved leisure travel, including vacations and visiting friends and relatives," said PwC Ireland’s senior aviation finance consultant Dick Forsberg.
The report also said that the survival rate amongst airlines has been higher than expected given the Covid disruptions of the last two years.
It counted 64 airline failures — comprising of 30 going out of business, 15 currently restructuring, and 19 already having emerged from restructuring. It said the fallout would have been “considerably greater” without well over $200bn in global government support to the sector.
However, it warned that the heavy debt burden taken on by airlines during the crisis still poses a challenge, and may result in more failures.
