The invasion of Ukraine by Russia will have "
heavy
" consequences for the activity of French airports, they warned Thursday, when they hoped for a year of recovery after the health crisis thanks to the dynamism of "
low " companies.
cost
”.
For 2022, "
the airlines have developed a very very encouraging offer (...)
", in particular from airports outside the Paris region, noted the president of the Union of French airports (UAF) Thomas June.
"
The low-cost companies in particular are very offensive, we note a development greater than 2019
", i.e. before the health crisis which seriously affected the sector, he added, considering that "it
is a confirmation of the low-cost model -cost, even more in the context of this exit from the crisis than before
".
Read alsoThe war in Ukraine penalizes European companies
In fact, according to the UAF, low-cost traffic represented "
a little less than 40% of traffic in mainland France
" compared to 35% in 2019. The big unknown, however, remains the attitude of travellers, in particular leisure travellers. , at a time when an armed conflict is taking place at the gates of the European Union.
And this while professional air travel is struggling to resume in the context of the development of teleworking and videoconferencing.
The UAF, in unison with other organizations in the sector, estimates so far that France should regain this year some 70% of its air travelers from 2019. In 2021, French airports welcomed 90.6 million passengers. , better than the 70 million of 2020 but still far from the 214 of 2019.
"Increase in the cost of air transport"
The situation in Ukraine also worries professionals for its induced effects: the skyrocketing price of hydrocarbons will cause "
an increase in the cost of air transport, which will be considerable
", some lines risking no longer being profitable according to the UAF .
"
We don't know what the consequences will be, but they will be heavy
," warned Thomas June, as companies in the sector emerge from the crisis with "
dried cash
".
In this regard, the UAF has taken up its leitmotif of the "
competitiveness of French airports
" compared to those of other countries and in particular asked the State to give up asking airports for the reimbursement of cash advances to carry out the missions of airport security.
These will total 700 million euros for the period 2020-2022 and will have to be repaid over seven years from 2024.
