Navigating pandemic recovery a challenge for airline industry: Senator Housakos
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It is difficult to overstate the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to Canada’s aviation industry.
The last two years have presented Canadian airlines and airports with an unprecedented challenge, in which they have had to constantly adapt to a series of fast-changing circumstances that have essentially crippled their growth for two years. Since March 2020, the Canadian aviation sector experienced declines of between 85% to almost 100% in passenger volumes, with the tightening of air travel restrictions acting to render the situation even more critical. The result has been colossal revenue losses and mounting pandemic-related debt, along with a deep uncertainty about the industry’s future and recovery.
Throughout the pandemic, Canadian airlines have done everything our federal government has asked of them by adhering to a wide range of demands, co-operating extensively with public health officials when it comes to quarantine requirements, and by complying with testing and screening procedures.
While it goes without saying that the government’s demands on the aviation industry were perhaps necessary in the face of widespread uncertainty and lack of information at the beginning of the pandemic, the need for stringent measures became less obvious as the pandemic progressed, specifically in the presence of high vaccination levels and mounting evidence to suggest that air travel is safe.
As we seem to finally be reaching a point where we can enjoy the free movement of people with fewer and fewer COVID restrictions, we can surely expect to see swift increases in air traffic. That being said, the temporary health measures did not come without a cost for the aviation industry, which now finds itself faced with the challenge of navigating the uncertainty of its own recovery and future. The reality of a growing labour shortage and a weakened supply chain, exacerbated by the effects of continuous restrictions on the travel sector, presents a potential challenge to the industry’s capacity to handle the increasing demand going forward, and puts at risk its recovery.
As recently as January 2022, we saw major airliners cut down the number of scheduled flights due to insufficient manpower, at a time where the need for staff was greater due to all the additional screening measures put in place.
Many experts are predicting that the demand for travel will eventually roar back even stronger than it was pre-pandemic. This leaves the Canadian aviation sector vulnerable and unprepared to handle the increased demand in a context where the travel industry is fundamentally different than it was two years ago, threatening to limit its growth and reduce its competitiveness.
The reality is that the airline industry has been forever changed by the pandemic and that its future is likely to be more volatile and uncertain than ever before. This requires increased adaptability and responsiveness from the industry and from the government. It is perhaps not unfair to say that the federal government’s slow response during the pandemic to provide the industry with any meaningful assistance only acted to exacerbate the consequences on the aviation sector itself and also on our economy. Now that the industry is looking toward recovery post-COVID, there is no time for delay.
It is imperative that the aviation industry be given the freedom and flexibility needed to reform itself in this time of crisis. Now is an opportunity for the government to do what it failed to do before and take bold and swift action toward reforms that encourage innovation and address the barriers that hinder the industry’s commercial operations and competitiveness. Should the government be unwilling to act on this opportunity, it would do well to get out of the way and allow aviation to work toward industry-led reforms as quickly as possible. Further delay only risks putting a vital part of our national infrastructure and our economy in jeopardy.
Senator Leo Housakos represents the division of Wellington in Quebec. He is chair of the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications.
This article appeared in the April 4, 2022 edition of The Hill Times.
It is difficult to overstate the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to Canada’s aviation industry.
The last two years have presented Canadian airlines and airports with an unprecedented challenge, in which they have had to constantly adapt to a series of fast-changing circumstances that have essentially crippled their growth for two years. Since March 2020, the Canadian aviation sector experienced declines of between 85% to almost 100% in passenger volumes, with the tightening of air travel restrictions acting to render the situation even more critical. The result has been colossal revenue losses and mounting pandemic-related debt, along with a deep uncertainty about the industry’s future and recovery.
Throughout the pandemic, Canadian airlines have done everything our federal government has asked of them by adhering to a wide range of demands, co-operating extensively with public health officials when it comes to quarantine requirements, and by complying with testing and screening procedures.
While it goes without saying that the government’s demands on the aviation industry were perhaps necessary in the face of widespread uncertainty and lack of information at the beginning of the pandemic, the need for stringent measures became less obvious as the pandemic progressed, specifically in the presence of high vaccination levels and mounting evidence to suggest that air travel is safe.
As we seem to finally be reaching a point where we can enjoy the free movement of people with fewer and fewer COVID restrictions, we can surely expect to see swift increases in air traffic. That being said, the temporary health measures did not come without a cost for the aviation industry, which now finds itself faced with the challenge of navigating the uncertainty of its own recovery and future. The reality of a growing labour shortage and a weakened supply chain, exacerbated by the effects of continuous restrictions on the travel sector, presents a potential challenge to the industry’s capacity to handle the increasing demand going forward, and puts at risk its recovery.
As recently as January 2022, we saw major airliners cut down the number of scheduled flights due to insufficient manpower, at a time where the need for staff was greater due to all the additional screening measures put in place.
Many experts are predicting that the demand for travel will eventually roar back even stronger than it was pre-pandemic. This leaves the Canadian aviation sector vulnerable and unprepared to handle the increased demand in a context where the travel industry is fundamentally different than it was two years ago, threatening to limit its growth and reduce its competitiveness.
The reality is that the airline industry has been forever changed by the pandemic and that its future is likely to be more volatile and uncertain than ever before. This requires increased adaptability and responsiveness from the industry and from the government. It is perhaps not unfair to say that the federal government’s slow response during the pandemic to provide the industry with any meaningful assistance only acted to exacerbate the consequences on the aviation sector itself and also on our economy. Now that the industry is looking toward recovery post-COVID, there is no time for delay.
It is imperative that the aviation industry be given the freedom and flexibility needed to reform itself in this time of crisis. Now is an opportunity for the government to do what it failed to do before and take bold and swift action toward reforms that encourage innovation and address the barriers that hinder the industry’s commercial operations and competitiveness. Should the government be unwilling to act on this opportunity, it would do well to get out of the way and allow aviation to work toward industry-led reforms as quickly as possible. Further delay only risks putting a vital part of our national infrastructure and our economy in jeopardy.
Senator Leo Housakos represents the division of Wellington in Quebec. He is chair of the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications.
This article appeared in the April 4, 2022 edition of The Hill Times.