Abstract

The thesis aim is to find out the impact of Covid 19 on the air travel industry and the policy changes made.

To achieve necessary results, the main objectives were to critically examine the impact of covid 19 in the air Travel industry and the policy changes that were made during the covid 19 pandemic. In order to determine the objective of the final thesis, the following specific objectives were looked at:

Background study on the outbreak on the outbreak of Covid 19 in the world, how covid 19 pandemic influenced the air transport industry. The study also looked at the policy changes made in the air travel industry during the peak period of Covid 19.

Under literature review, the air transport system was examine, some other studies on the impact of Covid 19 in other related aspects of the society were looked at. To gather important data Quantitative and qualitative methods such as the use of interview questions was used.

Questionnaires were self administered with the use of Google Form. According to interview surveys conducted with experts of travel agencies, the band in air travel by some countries influenced the movement of people. People could not move freely due to the travel restrictions.

Again, majority of the respondents in the quantitative study were in total agreement that Covid 19 had a negative impact on the aviation industry as it led to loss of Jobs, reduction of Salaries, loss of lives and properties just to name a few.

The author therefore recommends that the various air travel agencies in the world should improve on the technology and infrastructures so that they can be able to target a sudden pandemic like Covid 19 in Future

Chapter one

INTRODUCTION

Tourism needs air transportation, airport facilities, reliable and secure airline services, and global air transportation networks (Lohmann & Duval, 2015). In 2014, air travel accounted for more than half of all foreign visitors (54%). (UNWTO, 2015). Air travel has a major impact on the economy of a destination, including the tourism industry, and vice versa (Henderson, 2009; Lian & Denstadli, 2010).

Tourism has influenced the growth of destinations specialized as gateways, hubs, or stopovers (Bieger & Wittmer, 2006), opened new destinations and tourism markets, and stimulated the development of charter airlines (Bieger & Wittmer, 2006). (Lohmann & Duval, 2014).

There are only a few reviews of air transport literature (Ginieis, Sánchez-Rebull, Hernández, & Planas, 2011; Ginieis, Sánchez-Rebull, & CampaPlanas, 2012; Kaps & Philips, 2004), and only one prior study looks at tourism and transportation.

Duval (2013, p. 495) identified three themes in the only current literature review on this topic: ‘(1) the economic regulation of international commercial air transport; (2) the relationship between destinations, connectivity, and airline business models; and (3) the relationship between aviation-related emissions and climate policies.’

Historically, the commercial aviation industry has supported more than 80 million jobs around the world and contributed up to 8% of global GDP. Air transport carries more than 30% of all international trade in terms of value, and approximately 60% of international tourists travel by air (Lange 2020).

However, as Lange (2020) at Airbus points out. We’ve seen it fall off a cliff by 2020. In April, two-thirds of the world’s fleet of aircraft was grounded, 90 percent of operations were canceled, and the figure was even higher for foreign operations, where the figure was closer to 98 percent.

We also have the most recent IATA [International Air Transport Association] forecast, which is about 60% to 65% lower than last year Lange 2020)..

Tourism has become one of the economy’s fastest-growing and hardest-hit markets. International tourist arrivals can decline by 60% to 80% in 2020, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO, 2020a).

This is a good example. Not only in the Caribbean, but also in many Latin American cities and communities, the sector is a major contributor to exports, the economy, and jobs. Given the high degree of ambiguity surrounding the duration of the event,

It is difficult to quantify the short, medium, and long-term impacts of the pandemic on tourism in different parts of the country, as well as related contingency and subsequent relaxation steps.( Nanno Mulder et al, 2020). Tourism has greatly influenced the air travel industry

The airline industry has been seeing a slow and sustained recovery since passenger demands hit a low point in the spring of 2020 (Aznavurian 2020), with recovery occurring more quickly in domestic markets.

As a result, some airlines that have a strong domestic presence (such as some in China) are experiencing faster recoveries than airlines such as AeroMéxico and Copa that relied heavily pre-COVID-19 on international markets (Aznavurian 2020; Dominguez 2020; Lange 2020).

To help generate additional revenue, AeroMéxico is opening new city pairs domestically while restrictions for international flights are in place. Copa Airlines, in the Central American country of Panama, was shut down for seven months (i.e., March 17 to October 12),

Importance of the Topic

This research identifies the impacts of a pandemic like Covid 19 on the air-travel industry, the study also examine some policy changes made during the peak period of the Covid 19 pandemic.

This study will enable policy makers to know the impact of covid 19 ON Air travel industry.  It will serve as a relevant document for individuals, government, and corporate organizations interested in developing tourism. 

This study will also contribute to knowledge, which will be useful to researchers in tourist development studies. Research in the present day entails studying the works of others and related literature to the topic so as improve on the efficiency and accuracy of both the qualitative and quantitative data.

This study stands a better chance of providing resourceful material for other researchers carrying out studies on related topics and similar case study. Research works, articles and journals have always been a resourceful tool for teachers to improve and update their notes so as to achieve a higher percentage of the lesson objectives and goals.

This final thesis therefore seeks to answer the following questions

• How did the outbreak of Covid 19 influence the air travel industry?
• What are the policies changes made during the peak periods of Covid 19?
• To what extent did the band in air travel in some countries influenced the Tourism industry?
• What are the possible policy recommendations that can help the air travel industry to retain all its clients amidst the corona virus pandemic?

Research problem

The latest COVID-19 pandemic has influenced us all. The pandemic’s effect and effects, however, are felt differently depending on our position as individuals and members of society. Our various social identities and the social classes to which we belong decide our inclusion in society and, as a result, our susceptibility to epidemics.

The major problem identified in this study is the Ban of air travel in some countries in the world and the repatriation of people back to their home countries. This ban of air travel greatly influenced the tourism industry as it led to low GDP from countries that rely so much on Tourism as their major activity.

International flights were affected the most during the peak period of Covid 19, many international air travel industry suffered a great loss as a result of the Pandemic

Again, the outbreak of the pandemic led to loss of Jobs in the air travel industry in the world. This problem was supported by the Executive Director of the cross-industry Air Transport Action Group, Michael Gill, he said that:   “we know that a lot of jobs in air transport and the wider economy relying on aviation are at risk”.

Air travel has decreased, forcing airlines to reduce availability. Many have been shut down by governments in order to stop the virus from spreading. As a result, income has plummeted. Given the significance of airports in the economic growth of cities, nations, and regions, COVID-19 had a massive effect on the global economy.

The pandemic has led to reduction of salaries of workers in the air travel industry: To pay the bills, the airline industry relies on high-fare, frequent-flying business passengers.

However, according to Airlines Reporting Corp., which processes airline tickets, the amount of tickets sold by travel agencies to corporate customers was 85.3 percent lower than previous years when the pandemic had not break out. It should be noted that without these customers, business strategies must change and salaries of workers must also change

Object of the thesis: The impact of Covid 19 in the air travel industry and policy changes

Aim and objectives of the thesis:

The main aim of this thesis is to critically examine the impact of covid 19 in the air Travel industry and the policy changes that were made during the covid 19 pandemic. In order to determine the objective of the final thesis, the following specific objectives will be looked at:

1. Background study on the outbreak of Covid 19
2. To examine how covid 19 pandemic influenced the air transport industry.
3. The study will also look at the policy changes made in the air travel industry during the peak period of Covid 19
4. The study will also examine the extent to which the band in air travel in some countries has influenced the Tourism industry?
5. The possible policy recommendations that can help the air travel industry to retain all its clients amidst the corona virus pandemic