Research Overview

The aviation industry is in a crisis and airports are one of its hardest hit participants. Passenger volumes have severely declined due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and airport revenues have dried up without passengers. Passenger confidence is not expected to rebound quickly, and so passenger volume is not anticipated to return to pre-pandemic levels for a few years. Airports must identify their strategic advantages over competitors to combat this. By analyzing macro and micro factors affecting operations, any airport will be able to identify risks to be mitigated and growth opportunities. This is especially important in terms of route network development in the wake of the crisis and considering the future. Airports must identify ways to share risk with airlines to provide the best possible service. Tier 3 and 4 airports are especially vulnerable because they typically see less than 10 million passengers annually. These airports may feel the effects of COVID-19 deeper and longer than Tier 1 airports that already have some services resuming. Tier 2 to 4 also may not have well-defined route network planning divisions and would benefit immensely from analyzing threat and opportunity areas.