Aviation Faces Structural Challenges From Covid-19 Turbulence

摘要

Airlines are on the front lines of the global pandemic, grounding passenger flights to contain the coronavirus while keeping cargo planes in the skies to deliver critical medical supplies. The sudden downturn in air traffic as a global recession looms large begs the question of whether aviation can-and should-resume its pre-crisis growth path (JFI Mar.16’20). Air travel demand bounced back within several months from the last downturns after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and the 2008 global financial crisis. But that may not happen this time around, as any recovery could take much longer to gain traction. “The impending bankruptcy of Boeing, a pillar of the US economy only a few weeks ago, sig-nals that the foundations of even the most financially solvent companies rest on quicksand,” writes veteran energy economist Philip K. Verleger in his latest Notes at the Margin. With much of the global airline sector now grounded, airlines are grappling with a likely recession-amid a growing realization that the world won’t return to normal quickly, if at all.