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Passenger traffic at Europe’s airports fell 73% in September, compared with the same month in 2019, according to industry trade body ACI Europe.
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Nearly 200 airports in Europe will face financial collapse in the coming months if passenger traffic doesn’t recover by the end of the year.
That is the stark warning from industry trade body ACI Europe, which said on Tuesday that 193 airports, out of 740 airports in the region, will struggle to stay solvent without government help.
Regional hubs were most at risk, where collapse would create a ripple-effect upon local employment and economies. Collectively, Europe’s airports support an estimated 277,000 jobs and €12.4 billion of European gross domestic product.
Passenger traffic at Europe’s airports fell 73% in September, compared with the same month in 2019, bringing the total volume of lost passengers since January 2020 to 1.29 billion.
Regional German airport Paderborn/Lippstadt filed for insolvency proceedings in September, after passenger numbers fell 85% on the same period last year.
“The figures published today paint a dramatically bleak picture,” said Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe.
“Eight months into the crisis, all of Europe’s airports are burning through cash to remain open, with revenues far from covering the costs of operations, let alone capital costs. Governments’ current imposition of quarantines rather than testing is bringing Europe’s airports closer to the brink with every day that passes,” Jankovec added.
Read: Heathrow offers rapid one-hour COVID-19 tests — they aren’t cheap
The top 20 European airports have added €16 billion of debt, equivalent to nearly 60% of their revenues in a normal year, as they turn to the financial markets to shore up balance sheets and build emergency war chests, ACI Europe said.
The figures came as low cost airline easyJet agreed on Tuesday to sell nine more planes, raising $398.6 million to help boost its balance sheet. Wealth management firm Wilmington Trust Services will buy five Airbus 320s, and aircraft leasing firm Sky High 112 will buy the remaining four 320s.
On Oct. 8, easyJet EZJ, -3.00% slashed flights to 25% of its normal level and urged the U.K. government to help airlines survive the COVID-19 pandemic, as it reported its first loss in its 25-year history.
Just days later, rival Irish carrier Ryanair RYAAY, -4.06% slashed its winter flight capacity from 60% to 40% of the previous year’s level, blaming restrictions imposed by European governments.
Read: United Airlines tests COVID-19 ‘health pass’ to kick-start global travel again
Last week, Heathrow Airport launched the U.K.’s first pre-departure testing facility, allowing passengers flying from London Heathrow to Hong Kong and Italy to get rapid COVID-19 tests before checking in.
The test, which can be booked online, costs £80 ($104), and results will be available within 60 minutes. International Consolidated Airlines IAG, -4.31% -owned British Airways, Virgin Atlantic (49% owned by Delta Air Lines DAL, -2.67% ), and Cathay Pacific will be the first airlines to offer the testing facility.
