31st March 2020 By Contributor
NZ Airports Association chief executive Kevin Ward on the challenges the country’s airports face staying open during the coronavirus pandemic.
Kevin Ward
Aviation remains the only national rapid transport network for domestic travel, the enabler of international travel and tourism, and the freight mode for high value and time-sensitive cargoes. Airports are also lifeline utilities and provide community resilience.
Steps to ensure business continuity (at a reduced level), and maintain national and international air connections for reduced demand are the urgent priorities as we face the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, with readiness to re-bound the next goal.
The numbers of international passengers and flights are plummeting and domestic volumes are also dropping significantly. As I write this, airports are welcoming the Government’s special [$600m] support package for aviation and for businesses. But what are the issues going forward?
Where to now?
Most air cargo travels in the hold of passenger aircraft. Exporters and importers dependent on air freight will also be dependent on Government support for aviation.
Aviation is an ecosystem with many inter-related players. Airlines, airports, general aviation and air navigation all have essential roles. Each has a network of suppliers and industry partners supporting their operations. Support measures must be fairly spread over the system.
Airports have their own challenges. As public transport infrastructure, they have an obligation to remain open and maintain safety, almost regardless of the level of operations within the facility. This raises different challenges for different airports, depending on their ownership and funding structures.
Given the drop in domestic and business air travel, this will become an issue across the airport network – international, regional and small airports. The connectivity and national reach of the system may be put at risk.
Air links between provincial centres and major centres will be essential to enable patient transfers to larger hospitals with specialised equipment. Patient transfer flights are an essential and growing role of regional airports.
Specific issues
Flights and passenger numbers will drop to very low levels, and so will airport cash flow, but infrastructure, safety and operations costs continue.
Many airports have a high dependency on passenger and airline-related revenue. The drop in flights and passenger numbers, and thus cash flow, will be severe. Many infrastructure, safety and operational costs continue, regardless of levels of airport activity.
Capital works at risk
Airport capital works are usually significant projects to meet airline and passenger demand, or to meet regulatory requirements. It will be in the national interest to enable demand to bounce back as quickly as possible when travel and health restrictions are lifted, and the airport capacity will be needed.
Ability to maintain
Airways is the contracted supplier of visual navigation aids (various required lighting systems) that are essential to ongoing operations and safety compliance at many airports. Airways’ ability to maintain these services, and continue with programmed replacement and upgrades is critical to airport operational continuity and safety.
Airports typically have a small staffing base, but a wide range of safety and operational responsibilities. Like other business sectors, we need measures to ensure core staff are not lost when business turns down.
This issue is not restricted to airports. Skills and personnel need to be retained across the aviation ecosystem to ensure all players are ready for lift-off when restrictions are removed.
Plan the recovery
All these issues point to the need for an industry-wide strategy to recover quickly.
We will need to assist the return of air connectivity, especially international capacity for the visitor economy and tourism sector with the associated economic and social benefits.
Industry parties will need to work jointly on the readiness to rebound and Government support will be required.
There is a long journey ahead of us.
Republished with permission from NZ Airports Association.
