The Impact of COVID-19 on the Airline Industry
The effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic have been devastating on the economy, businesses, and people alike. The airline industry has been hit particularly hard, as the number of people flying in the past few weeks has dropped astronomically.
When the number of Coronavirus cases began to rise in the U.S., everyone was advised to practice social distancing and stay at home. Anyone traveling was urged to self-quarantine for 14 days to limit the spread of the virus. Despite these measures, the U.S. has quickly surpassed Spain and Italy for the highest number of cases in the world.
On April 8, 2020, 94,931 U.S. travelers passed through TSA checkpoints. Last year on the same day, there were 2,229,276 travelers that passed through checkpoints, as reported on the TSA website. That’s a drop of over 96%. With only a fraction of normal traffic in airports, airlines have been forced to cut back on flights. This has in turn affected flight attendants, who not only have to worry about their job security, but also their health.
In order to survive the pandemic, major airlines including Delta, JetBlue, and United, have filed for relief packages from the government, as part of a more than $2 trillion relief package passed by Congress in late March. The airlines should start hearing back preliminary information about their applications this weekend, according to CNBC.
Even once the pandemic subsides, travel bans are lifted, and it is deemed safe to fly again, people are going to be fearful and distrustful. Essentially, there is no going back to “normal” after this. It will be a new kind of normal, one in which there are stricter cleaning and disinfecting procedures, and a heavier reliance on technology rather than human personnel in airports and on flights.
The thought of near empty airports and planes with barely any passengers is quite eerie. One can only hope that the world will start moving forward again at a normal pace in the near future. Until then, it is essential that everyone follows the guidelines to limit the spread of COVID-19 and keep everyone safe.
