The corona pandemic has left deep marks on Germany's airports. The availability of flights has collapsed due to a lack of demand and, as a result, the revenue of the airports also fell rapidly. The currently increased demand in the direction of Mallorca and Mexico is only a small straw, because otherwise the forecasts for April and May 2021 are not exactly rosy.

The hopes of tour operators, airports, hoteliers and airlines lie in the Whitsun holidays, but especially in the traditionally busy summer time. Some states have already announced that there will be few restrictions on people who are vaccinated, but many people will not be fully vaccinated by then. There is therefore a high probability that there will be test obligations on both sides, which could have a negative impact on demand.

“The airports and all partners in the aviation industry have found themselves in a serious, unprecedented crisis as a result of the corona pandemic. Despite the current increase in booking numbers due to Easter travel, the battered aviation industry is struggling to survive. Further tightened entry restrictions, an unmanageable, constantly changing patchwork of country-specific corona regulations and blanket quarantine regulations are slowing down any recovery in air traffic. The number of passengers is far from normal ”, writes the Association of German Airports in a press release.

The ADV summarizes the effects of the corona pandemic on Germany's airports below:

• Passengers down by 85,5 percent between March 2020 and February 2021
• 62,9 million passengers in 2020 compared to 248,6 million in 2019; this corresponds to the traffic level of the late 80s
• EUR 1,8 billion expected loss at all airports in Germany in 2020; after a pre-tax profit of almost EUR 800 million in 2019
• EUR 2,6 billion expected revenue shortfall in 2021
• EUR 1,2 billion expected loss in 2021
• 65 percent of employees are currently on short-time work; in 2020 up to 80% short-time work
• over 40.000 of the 180.000 jobs at airport locations at risk

One year of the corona pandemic - and no recovery trend in air traffic in sight. The airports are clearly feeling this. “Even the much-discussed bookings at Easter are only a gentle blossoming and will last for a short time. The dry spell continues unabated ”, so the sobering assessment of Ralph Beisel, General Manager of the Airport Association ADV.

On average in January and February 2021, only around 10 percent of passengers flew compared to the pre-crisis level. “On the one hand, people can hardly wait to travel freely and carefree again. On the other hand, travel must be carried out safely and conscientiously even under corona conditions. Both do not have to be mutually exclusive. Responsible mobility in air traffic can be made possible through optimized test strategies. I ask politicians to rely on test procedures instead of blanket quarantine regulations, ”was the clear message from Ralph Beisel.