04/30/2020 - 10:51
- Clarín.com
- travels
In the world, 180 countries took concrete measures and closed all or part of their borders , for which no less than 87% of the regular operations of world-wide airlines are affected , and most of the air movement today is cargo.
Among these 180 countries there are different cases, but there is one that took an unprecedented measure without clear foundations: Argentina. " No country in the world made the decision to have the planes on the ground until September, " said Peter Cerdá, vice president for the Americas of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
"I am sure that, if the Argentine government does not take concrete measures to change the restriction on the prohibition of ticket sales until September, several international airlines will not return to Argentina in a long time, " the executive said in statements to the newspaper La Nación. .
The first to anticipate the decision was Air New Zealand, which announced it will no longer operate the Auckland-Buenos Aires route , which had a frequency of five weekly flights. "Argentina has been a challenge before the pandemic, and we do not expect this market to recover quickly," said Nick Judd, Head of Alliances, Strategy and Network at Air New Zealand.
Ezeiza International Airport, empty. Airline associations maintain that the decision to ban flights until September is unprecedented in the world (Germán García Adrasti)
Consulted by Clarín, Ethiopian Airlines sources assured that so far it is not in the company's plans to suspend its flights between Buenos Aires and Addis Ababa, with a stopover in Rio de Janeiro.
The IATA executive highlighted that in Latin America, where the air sector is essential because there is no good infrastructure for trains or routes, most countries apply border closings every 15 or 20 days , depending on the evolution of the situation. Several countries in Europe are already partially opening the restrictions, while in our region, most will continue until May 15 or 30.
Peter Cerdá, Vice President for the Americas of the International Air Transport Association.
But "what Argentina has done to extend the quarantine until May 10 but restrict air transport until September 1 without being able to sell tickets, does not agree with what other countries are doing globally, " he said.
And he stressed that the Argentine Government made a decision without consulting or specifying the reasons . "We don't have an explanation for why he gives everyone a date (from quarantine) of mid-May and the sector is told that it will be in September. In other countries, the industry adapted to the restrictive measures taken by governments. All countries started with a date and have postponed it, but no one until September. In all cases, the dates are aligned, in the case of Argentina, no, ”he explained.
And he detailed that on March 12 the entity sent a letter to the Argentine Minister of Transport "requesting a leadership role, as other governments have done." And on March 26, the Director General of IATA wrote to President Alberto Fernández. Then a group with different actors from the sector was established to try to align positions and there was a meeting, but it was not successful. "Some information was shared, but it was not a strategic meeting like others we have had in other countries," he said.
Flybondi and Jetsmart planes on the ground at El Palomar airport (Rafael Mario Quinteros)
Regarding the economic consequences of not being able to fly until September, the IATA executive noted that the impact on restricted sales until May is $ 2.3 billion, endangering 14,000 jobs. " If it extends to September, the impact is 3,000 million and 18,500 jobs at risk ."
An unprecedented fall
Consulted by Clarín , Luis Felipe de Oliveira, Executive Director & CEO of the Latin American Air Transport Association (ALTA), agreed to regret the government's decision to leave the planes on the ground until September. “Up to now, it can be thought that at the end of May / beginning of June, domestic operations will begin in the region with 15% -20% of capacity, with the exception of Argentina, which unfortunately stipulated a start date of September 1 "He stressed.
And he indicated that, if these perspectives are maintained, there could be some 25,000 monthly flights in Latin America in October, with some international ones. However, he stressed that "there is still a lot of uncertainty about the extent of the crisis for companies in the sector, as well as government restrictions." And it was forceful regarding the recovery: " To resume the levels (number of flights) of December 2019, we would have to wait until early 2022. "
Views of the Airport with flights canceled by the coronavirus (Rafael Mario Quinteros)
The executive highlighted that the week of April 20-26, 5,800 flights (many of them cargo) were operated to and from Latin America, while the same week of 2019 had been 74,000: a reduction of more than 92% in one year .
He noted that globally, more than 95% of the planned original capacity is paralyzed. Only domestic flights in Mexico, Brazil and Chile and some international flights between Mexico and the United States and between the US are operating (at a very reduced capacity). and Caribbean countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Also some between Brazil and Europe, such as Saint Paul-Paris, three times a week, operated by Air France.
What is clear is that “the Covid-19 will result in an unprecedented decline for aviation ; even greater than past crises such as September 11 or the 2008 financial crisis. IATA estimates a 49% reduction in traffic in Latin America by 2020, which would imply losses of $ 18 billion in the region. Given these uncertainties, it is still complex to define exactly the magnitude of the impact, as well as the recovery that will vary significantly between markets ”.