ACI World expects the return to business for the aviation industry to come in phases in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The phases would include an initial restart with a limited number of passengers; recovery with a slow increase in passenger volume; a gradual scale-up in capacity; and then

return to more traditional passenger volumes.

ACI World said any new measures that are introduced at airports will need to evolve through these phases until, eventually, the industry will arrive at “the new normal” in terms of the end-to-end passenger journey.

The association estimates that the coronavirus crisis will cost airports more than 4.6 billion passengers and around US$97 billion in revenue in 2020.

“COVID-19 has been an unprecedented global challenge, particularly to the aviation industry, with the quick spread of the virus resulting in governments rapidly restricting travel and closing borders to limit the spread,” said Angela Gittens, ACI World director-general.

“This has had a drastic and detrimental effect on airports worldwide and a variety of new measures could become a necessity at airports as the industry restarts.”

The agency noted that in the implementation of measures to prepare restart of operations, there should be coordination between governments, clear definition of responsibilities and good communication to the travelling public. As well, it may be necessary to accelerate needed regulatory change.

“Collaboration, co-operation and consistency are key, first for the industry to successfully restart, and then for sustaining a balanced recovery,” Gittens said.

“Governments and industry regulators will need to ensure that any new processes that they require airports to introduce are adapted to changing data and medical evidence and ensure that they remain aligned with those deployed through other modes of transport and the wider society,” she added.