Airlines - IATA
IATA has warned that high airport and air navigation service provider (ANSP) charges will damage the industry recovery and keep airlines mired in a financial crisis for years ahead.
Hemant Mistry, IATA’s Director, Global Airport Infrastructure and Fuel, says that industry partners simply haven’t faced the same sense of urgency as airlines.
“Airlines started burning through the cash as soon as flights were grounded but, generally speaking, airports and ANSPs are monopolies, they aren’t used to controlling costs, and they never tried to adjust to the new market realities.”
Some airports and ANSPs have worked hard, especially in the initial phase of the pandemic. Early on, EUROCONTROL ANSPs deferred about €1 billion in airline charges and several airports made similar moves to ease airline costs.
The problem is that not only are many suppliers now looking to recoup deferred payments but also that they want to recover all monies estimated to have been lost because of the pandemic, including profits.
