- Nineteen prisoners use cutlery to break out of cells at Winchester prison
- France wants progress in Ukraine before Russia returns to G7
- Italy president begins talks to seek way out of government crisis
- Italian PM expected to resign as political chaos deepens
- Russia says US cruise missile test ‘regrettable’
- Kremlin - No date set for Normandy talks on Ukraine despite Macron meeting
- Egypt court hands out 6 death sentences on terror charges
- Putin says Russian nuclear explosion poses no threat
- Russian panel eyes alleged foreign interference in protests
- Gran Canaria wildfire triggers evacuation of thousands of people
- PM Johnson calls on Germany and France to compromise on Brexit
- Sudan's ex-president Bashir arrives at corruption trial
Thursday, 28 October 2020 (YJC)_ A report by ACI Europe has warned that around 200 European airports are at risk of insolvency.
Nearly 200 airports across Europe are at risk of insolvency due to the collapse in air travel, the European airports' trade body has warned.
A report by Airports Council International (ACI) Europe has estimated that 193 airports on the continent "face insolvency in the coming months if passenger traffic does not start to recover by the year-end".
It says those affected are mostly regional airports that only operate domestic flights.
It's estimated that these at-risk airports employ a combined 277,000 people and generate collective annual revenues of €12.4 billion.
But ACI Europe also says the larger European airports and hubs "are not immune from a major financial risk".
The organisation has also called on governments to "step up to provide the required support" for 20 major European airports which have suffered a sudden increase in debt of €16 billion - nearly 60% of their turnover for a normal year.
“The figures published today paint a dramatically bleak picture," said Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe.
Passenger numbers at Europe’s airports in September fell by 75% compared with the same month in 2019, and ACI Europe says “lost passengers” since January is now 1.29 billion.
“In the midst of a second wave, ensuring safe air travel continues to be our primary concern," said Olivier Jankovec.
"It’s crucial that we reduce the risks of importation and dissemination as much as possible"
ACI Europe has called for widespread COVID-19 testing to be introduced in airports to avoid quarantine measures and help to resume traffic.
"The fact that these airports had to make thousands of highly skilled workers redundant, clearly jeopardises their future".
Source: Euronews
Your Comment