DUBLIN: Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, air routes in Ireland began to vanish from 30 November with the introduction of new travel laws across Europe. In just two months, 700 routes have ‘disappeared’ from Irish and European airports. The total number of routes lost since March 20 is more than 7,000. This underscores the depth of the crisis in the sector.
The Irish aviation sector suffered a major setback when people heard orders from Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar not to even plan overseas summer vacations and breaks. The Airports Council International-Europe (ACIE) has also predicted a collapse in the aviation sector.
Cork Airport has now been reduced to a single Aer Lingus service to London Heathrow. Most often there are less than 50 passengers. In the summer of 2019, eight airlines in Cork had sold their 51 routes.
Due to quarantine regulation in Ireland and government advice against summer vacation travel, Aer Lingus and Ryanair are monitoring their summer schedules. Both sides are exploring the possibility of transferring the aircraft to business-friendly routes outside Ireland. With the approval of European Union aviation officials, Rainier plans to increase its travel capacity with the new Boeing 737-Max aircraft. Air Lingus has already applied to operate long-haul flights from Manchester to the US.
Officials warn that the aviation industry is on the verge of collapse during this COVID-19 pandemic. Industrialists say they do not expect the sector to recover by 2022. Compared to this time last year, the number of passengers at Irish airports has dropped by 99%. Route losses, aircraft transfers are the major problems. It can only be sustained with more financial support from the government.
A senior Irish aviation official has warned that the damage to the aviation sector should not be underestimated. With Ireland West-Knock closed completely, there are no scheduled activities at Shannon Airport. “This ranges from airlines to ground handlers, restaurants to car hire operators, bureaux de change to the airport companies themselves whose businesses have been simply devastated by this pandemic. A major multi-year recovery programme will be necessary to rebuild these devastated businesses,” he said.
Even flights via the Gulf, which are widely used to travel to India and elsewhere, have been reduced. Passengers seem to have abandoned trips for the Easter holidays. This is due to government restrictions. There are reports that some companies are denying leave to their employees for that reason.
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