Worldwide, international flights were the most crucial cause of COVID-19 spread, thus, causing severe stagnation in the aviation industry. In a post-pandemic era, protecting economic activity through ensuring air transport support has become a priority for countries that benefit from aviation and related sectors, such as tourism. Although the US still needs to outperform air travel compared to the previous years, it is making considerable progress and facing changes in aviation.
Before analyzing the post-pandemic status of US aviation, it is necessary to evaluate the damage caused by COVID-19. When the government introduced lockdowns to terminate the fatal virus, it closed airports and restricted air travel. To illustrate losses in aviation, Gao (2022) provides alarming numbers when the number of Americans who accessed commercial aviation was less than 5% of the number reported from the previous year. At the same time, passenger traffic decreased by 90% in April 2020 (Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty [AGCS], 2021). Nevertheless, the US managed to continue domestic flights during some periods of COVID-19, which relieved some of its detrimental consequences.
When it comes to the recovery after the pandemic, aviation is struggling because of the long breaks caused by lockdowns. This problem affects human resources as pilots make various errors, such as “forgetting to disengage the parking brake on takeoff, taking three attempts to land the plane on a windy day, and choosing the wrong runway” (AGCS, 2021, p. 4). Fortunately, these mistakes did not result in catastrophes injuring passengers. Resolving this issue requires the US Federal Aviation Administration to strengthen safety protocols and conduct training programs for rusty pilots reentering aviation.
As mentioned earlier, the permission to continue domestic flights despite the pandemic to relieve economic damage is justified by CARES Act. Currently, it affects the country by shrinking the number of flights in larger airports compared to smaller airports with intrastate destinations (Gao, 2022). Thus, Multiple Airport Regions (MARs) service conducting international flights declined more than Single Airport Regions. However, the US government supports the aviation industry to increase international flights and help international airports. Apart from the CARES Act, which expired in September 2020, the government compensated for 26 billion dollars lost due to aircraft fleet landings (Abate et al., 2020). These measures ensure that the country succeeds in aviation even after a long break.
Another alarming problem is associated with aircraft fleet management. When the restrictions were introduced, two-thirds of the global fleet was parked. The US airlines are no exception since they were also worried about ground handling of large aircraft that are difficult to maneuver in case of danger. Parking aircraft is expensive because airlines must ensure airworthiness by conducting weekly inspections (AGCS, 2021). Its current consequence is that the companies are shrinking their collective fleet because some long-haul aircraft have lost their mobility after storage. It establishes a tendency to build smaller aircraft with fewer people, which are safer and more fuel-efficient. Undoubtedly, the maintenance costs of such aircraft are considerably higher. Thus, the pandemic changed aircraft engineering, giving more preference to a new generation with small cargos.
To conclude, COVID-19 caused financial troubles for the aviation industry by limiting airline services and fleet management. Currently, the state is recovering from the situation, but it takes more effort from airlines and more support from the government. US aviation experiences human errors during the flight, a lack of international flights, and a reduction of long-haul aircraft. The government provides training for pilots and financial support for air travel to alleviate airlines’ stress.
References
Abate, M., Christidis, P., & Purwanto, A. J. (2020). Government support to airlines in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Air Transport Management, 89(1). Web.
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS). (2021). Aviation trends post Covid-19: Nine issues to watch as the industry prepares to takeoff. Allianz. Web.
Gao, Y. (2022). Benchmarking the recovery of air travel demands for US airports during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 13(1). Web.