Heathrow airport in the red because of the health crisis

Global containment measures and travel restrictions took their toll at London Airport last year.

Justin Tallis AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

The aviation sector is bearing the brunt of the devastating effects of Covid-19.

This is the case of London's Heathrow airport which fell into the red in 2020. It suffered a colossal loss of more than 2.3 trillion euros.

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Global containment measures and travel restrictions took their toll at London Airport last year.

The number of passengers plunged by 73% and turnover fell by 62%, mainly due to lower cargo volume.

In this difficult context, the airport management is asking the British government for more support.

She recalls that Heathrow has only benefited from aid intended to maintain employment and has not benefited from any reduction or suspension of tax on companies such as other airports or businesses.

 To read also: Air transport: an unprecedented drop in passenger traffic in 2020

As for the outlook, the sky will remain dark again this year and elsewhere for the entire aviation sector.

The International Air Transport Association estimates that global traffic in 2021 is expected to be between 33% and 38% of the pre-crisis level.

The travel sector is however hoping for a resumption of traffic from the spring, especially from the United Kingdom, thanks to

the gradual deconfinement plan announced

by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The International Air Transport Association is forecasting losses for airlines this year of between $ 75 billion and $ 95 billion.

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  • Coronavirus

  • Aeronautics

  • Transport

  • United Kingdom