Landing Strip

ACI Data Reveal Grim Reality

  • Data from Airports Council International (ACI) paint a stark picture of how bad the pandemic has been for the airline and airport industries. Passenger traffic fell by 59% in the first half of 2020 compared with last year. International passenger traffic fell the most, by 65%, and cargo, despite the growth in the sector, fell by 12%. In 2019, by contrast, traffic grew 4% from 2018, capping a decade of annual increases in traffic. The three busiest airports in the world, according to ACI, were Atlanta, Beijing, and Los Angeles.
  • ACI, in another white paper, said aviation taxes are hampering the industry’s recovery from the pandemic. Airport operators pay $10b in taxes worldwide, and this translates into almost 8% of an airport’s costs. With ticket and other taxes thrown in, air transport pays $90b in taxes, ACI estimates. The group believes that reducing aviation taxes could result in more than 700m additional passengers, if traffic held at 2019 levels, or 5.2m more jobs.

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