International flight schedules of European airlines
11 June 2020 · 2 min read
The Covid-19 pandemic is still having a massive impact on European airlines’ international flight schedules, despite the gradual lifting of health and lockdown measures.
- As of 8 June 2020 (source: OAG, “Official Aviation Guide of the Airways”), only 9% of European airlines’ international capacity[1] is being operated in the week of 8 to 14 June 2020, compared with the flight schedules drawn up by the airlines before the Covid-19 pandemic (end of December 2019).
- Plans to reopen borders and the biosecurity recommendations drawn up by IATA (International Air Transport Association) and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) point to a stronger recovery of international air capacity for the summer high season, in July and August:
- Air France plans to operate 35% and 40% respectively of its capacity to Europe in July and August, with European borders likely to reopen in mid-June. A tangible recovery of flights to the Maghreb and Africa remains tied to the health decisions of the authorities at those destinations, while Air France’s return to the Americas and Asia will be even more gradual.
- Low-cost airline EasyJet plans to operate 30% of its originally planned capacity on 75% of its routes in August.
- Gradual resumption of flights to the French overseas territories from the end of June.
As with the domestic routes now being flown again (in mainland France, for example), the recovery of international flights will be very gradual:
- Many destinations “reopened” for the summer high season
- With a number of frequencies substantially lower than pre-Covid forecasts
Airlines will need to be responsive in adapting their capacity to the level of demand, in terms of seats and frequencies offered as well as fare levels.
Bookings for the high season have restarted, and the coming weeks will provide valuable indicators of how strongly global air transport is “taking off again”: this will be the subject of our next weekly update.
[1] International capacity expressed in seats offered from the main airports or “hubs” of European airlines (11 airlines in our panel)