Eurocontrol Forecasts No Full Recovery Before 2024-2029

Eurocontrol has published a new forecast looking at the most probable aviation recovery scenarios for the next few years.

The forecast includes three scenarios:

– Scenario 1 – Vaccine Summer 2021 
Vaccine widely made available for travellers (or end of pandemic) by Summer 2021, with traffic only returning to 2019 levels by 2024.

– Scenario 2 – Vaccine Summer 2022 
Vaccine widely made available for travellers (or end of pandemic) by Summer 2022, with traffic only returning to 2019 levels by 2026. Traffic in 2024 would be at 92% of the 2019 figure.

– Scenario 3 – Vaccine not effective
Lingering infection and low passenger confidence, with traffic only returning to 2019 levels by 2029. In this scenario, 2024 traffic is estimated to be at 75% of the 2019 figure.

“Even in the most positive scenario, we do not expect a recovery to 2019 levels before 2024. There is a very real prospect that this recovery could take even longer, perhaps to as far out as 2029. This is a catastrophic picture for the aviation industry and shows clearly why it is so important for States to take consistent and coherent measures to support the aviation industry and make passengers feel safe to fly again.”

Eamonn Brennan, Eurocontrol Director